Kiss the Rain
by redstarangel26
Summary: His finger left the keys, his eyes following the movement of her long gracious legs, her muscular arms twirling above her head delicately. She was beautiful
1. Roses upon the keys

**Hey guys! It's a new story on the horizon! And it's about Ed and Winry, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the anime or manga! So no spoilers and such, well this is a new turn on things, I don't think I've really seen an idea quite like this so I hope it's a huge hit! Well, here is Kiss the Rain. **

**Summary: His finger left the keys, his eyes following the movement of her long gracious legs, her muscular arms twirling above her head delicately. She was beautiful. **

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, I do however own Kaede! He is all mine and from my imagination! :) I looove him too, and I hope you all love him also**

**Chapter 1: Roses upon the keys**

The auditorium was pitch black, no sound was to be heard but the very breathing of a beautiful creature that sat upon the stage slouched forward, hands splayed out in front of her body in the dim light of the moon that pooled around her. She slowly lifted her head to the ceiling exposing creamy pale skin. Her arms circled above her head then back down to caress her slender legs. She jumped up and started to twirl and flip with a melody no one else could hear. She kicked her long leg out in front of her and began a pirouette, tucking her arms in tightly to gain momentum. Her toes were pointed and curved when she drawled her leg back down to continue her waltz along the darkened stage. She was preparing to flip when the lights came on, blinding her into falling down. The young girl rolled onto her back, panting for air, gazing up at the lights casting down upon her.

"Winry, how many times do I have to tell you to stop practicing so late at night?" A calm voice came from behind the curtains. Said girl lifted herself up into a sitting position and wiped away the sweat that dripped down her cheek on down to her neck.

"I'm sorry Kaede, but I just can't stop. I love dancing in the dark. I feel like I can let out all of my secrets." She stated. He came out into the light and threw a towel at her.

"Well that's fine and dandy, but might I remind you that you have a huge test in math tomorrow that I don't want you to fail." He said running a hand through his spiky black hair, his purple eyes filled with annoyance and worry. Winry stood up with the towel draped around her neck.

"Don't worry, I'm really smart so no need to worry." She said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes. "Will you just go home and get some rest, you have rehearsal tomorrow too, and the pianist is coming in to accompany you." He said grasping her hand. She sighed.

"Why can't you just play for me?" She asked as they exited the stage. He switched off the lights and locked the door behind him.

"Because, you know very well that I am a teacher right now at the college and I don't have time to learn new music on the side while I'm already teaching my students their dances." He said. Winry shivered and untied her jacket from her waist and put it on.

"Yeah, you tell me every day." She muttered placing her hoody over her golden sunshine hair. She could feel the small pit pats of the rain that was starting to fall from the now dark sky. She gazed up at the clouds.

"Funny, the moon was out only a minute ago." She mumbled stuffing her hands into her pockets. They continued to walk down the abandoned roads to their apartment as the rain started to quicken.

"Is Katie visiting?" Winry asked. Kaede nodded his head which caused water to fly every which way. She growled and started to speed walk. Kaede sighed and tried to catch up to her. Once they finally reached the apartment complex, Winry took out her key with a shaking hand and inserted it into the slot. She tried to turn the golden key, but it wouldn't budge.  
"Damn it! I thought they fixed this?" She yelled out in frustration. Kaede pushed her aside and tried his key.

"It isn't working." He muttered. He tried once again but the key slipped and dropped into the now forming puddle from the pouring rain. Winry clutched her arms around her body trying to gain body warmth, but had no such luck.

"At this point I'll be too sick to take my damn test!" She growled. Before Kaede could protest, the door was opened to show a surprised blonde. The two friends looked at the newcomer in surprise.

"Uh, I heard you two arguing from my room, is everything alright?" He asked. Winry stood there stunned. He had the brightest golden eyes she had ever seen. His hair was a fierce gold tied messily into a pony tail and long bangs that framed his face and complimented his pale skin tone. He had only a tank top and shorts on showing off his well-toned muscles.

"Oh I'm sorry that we disturbed you, we were just stuck out here because the key slot is jammed." Kaede said breaking Winry from her reverie. The man stepped aside to let the two into the complex.

"Its fine, I'm glad I could help I guess." He glanced over at the hidden girl, tilting his head slightly and narrowing his eyes. She shivered and gazed down at the ground. The air got still and awkward.

"Well, uh, thank you," Kaede trailed off. "Edward, Edward Elric. I just moved into the complex with my brother today." He said. Kaede held out his hand and shook it.

"Kaede, and this is Winry here." He said gesturing to the shivering girl. Edward raised an eyebrow. "Interesting name for a guy." He said. She felt a sudden jolt run through her body and shot her head up to glare at this jerk before her. Kaede brought a fist to his lips and stifled a laugh, trying to pass it as a cough. She glared over at him making him shut up instantly.

"For your information tough guy, I'm a freaking girl!" Winry yelled. This wasn't the first time this happened. She always wore jackets that hid the fact she was girl, and her legs were so long that the dancer was usually mistaken for a man. It's not that she didn't want people to know her sex, it just so happened she looked male while wearing a jacket. Edward looked at her from head to toe as if checking her out.

"I guess you're right, you're too curvy to be a guy. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to say something so rude." He said with a nervous laugh. Her anger instantly vanished. Maybe he wasn't too bad.

"Well I hate to say this, but we have to head back, my girlfriend is waiting for us." Kaede said. Winry huffed and walked up the stairs without saying another word. She entered her apartment and greeted Katie with a lazy wave of her hand. She shut her door behind her and collapsed on her bed, still soaked to the bone. The ceiling fan above was clicking every time it made a circle around, almost like a lullaby. Her eyes drooped, muscles sank into her old mattress. After lying down for awhile, the air from the fan started to chill her and remind that her clothes were still wet. She sighed and sat up, peeling the skin tight jacket off of her bare arms. She gazed into the mirror at her form, her hands tracing her curves and then resting them on her bony hips. Her skin was smooth from the cold, her dark blue eyes standing out harshly against the pale white. Her lips were turning plush red again from the warmth of her heater that just kicked in. Her hair was tangled and matted to her face.

"Stupid guy." She mumbled throwing a towel over her shoulder and stepping into her connected bathroom. She turned on the water and stripped her clothes from her body. Once she could feel steam from the water pushing against her, she got into the searing hot water and sighed in content. The drops drilled into her aching muscles and slid down her now relaxed body. She felt the pain in her toes and ankles slowly fade away. Once she was done bathing she stepped out and dried off. She pulled on her favorite fuzzy pajama pants and black tank-top and pulled her hair away from her face into a pony tail. As soon as she exited her room, her ears were met with noises from the next room. Noises that she really didn't want to hear.

"You have the got to be kidding me!" she groaned. She grabbed her pillow and a blanket and exited the apartment. Her eyes scanned the dim hallway and at the stairs. It was worth a shot right? She slowly descended down the carpeted stairs and to the only apartment on the first floor. She stared at the golden number 1 for what seemed like forever before her knuckles finally connected with the wood. Her eyes scanned the number again, entranced by how the 1 glimmered in the lighting, and flashed whenever she moved. There were clicks and shuffling before the door was pulled open to show Edward and another person behind him who was rubbing his eyes.

"Who is it brother?" The man asked yawning. Said man raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I don't know Al, who are you?" He asked glancing down at the pillow and blanket in her arms. She sighed and held out her hand.

"We never really got properly introduced. I'm Winry, the girl you had mistaken for a man. I know it seem sudden, but my roommate is, well how should I put this, 'playing,' with his girlfriend, and I was wondering if I could just sleep here for tonight. I have a huge test tomorrow and I need some sleep." She drawled out. He chuckled and grasped her small hand with his large one.

"That was quite the introductory. We would be willing to help, so come on in." He said gesturing the girl inside. She sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much, I promise I won't ask for something like this again." She said. Edward led her to the couch while Al went back into his room. The room was deadly quiet except for the grandfather clock that was ticking loudly in its corner. The room was very comforting, a nice white couch with two black seating chairs angled beside it. There was a small wooden coffee table placed in the middle, all of which was facing the fire place. She examined the grey stone and followed the pattern until her blue eyes landed on the mantle. There were many pictures of the two brothers as kids with a beautiful mother that had a kind face. She felt herself smiling. On either end of the mantel were gold tinted curvy candle sticks with silver candles in them. Her eyes wandered along the blank wall and to the un-packed boxes piled in the corner.

"What are you looking at?" Edward asked, his voice deep and slow with confusion. Winry jumped about five feet in the air before turning to the attractive man behind her.

"I was observing your living room, it's quite nice actually." She said, feeling a bead of sweat fall from her forehead. He sighed and walked closer to her, a glass of water in his right hand.

"Thank you again," She said making him laugh. "If you keep thanking me I'm going to have to kick you out." He said handing her a glass of water. She gladly took it and gulped down the cool liquid.

"Anything else you need?" He asked sitting on the coffee table facing her. She shook her head, causing an awkward silence to blanket the room, the grandfather clock still ticking away the seconds that Winry was wasting not talking to this man. Her eyes lifted up to the mantle at the picture again.

"Is that your mother?" She asked, the words slipping from her lips before she could stop them. Her question was only left with more silence.  
"Yes," He said quietly. Winry bit her lip, she could feel the depression radiate off of him which made her shiver.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She stated shifting her gaze back to the golden eyed hottie. He shook his head

"No, its fine, she died over ten years ago. We both miss her a lot, but she lives on in us, more me than Alphonse though, much to his disappointment." He said with a chuckle.

"Why is that?" She asked, mentally cursing herself for speaking before thinking. He stared at his hands that were positioned on his knees. "Well she used to play the piano for us all the time. It was amazing, she was like an angel, her songs were so gentle and pure. That talent was passed onto me, but not Al, it really hurts him sometimes, but he loves to hear me play. Damn, what am I doing, I'm telling a stranger my past." He looked at her obviously annoyed with himself. He stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Go to sleep." He muttered shutting off the light and shutting his bedroom door behind him. She pulled the blanket around her and tucked it underneath her body so no cold air could find its way in to her cocoon. Her eyes stared at the ceiling in a daze, the sleep from her body had slipped away from her so she was now wide awake. She might as well have stayed in her own apartment; she would have gotten more sleep anyways. So with that thought on mind, she sat up, the blanket draped around her shoulders like a cape, and explored the apartment. It was bigger than she had first thought. When you first walk in you see the kitchen to the right, it had a bar in the front which looked out into the living room. To your left was the hallway with four doors, three bedrooms and a bathroom. Then she saw it, a small doorway on the left side of the living-room. She gazed down the hallway to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up yet, and started her trek forward to the secret room. She ran her hand along the wall until her finger connected with the light switch. Her eyes were met with something she wasn't expecting. The room was huge. It was a patio that gazed out into the park behind the complex. It was empty except for a black grand piano pushed to the corner.

"Wow." She whispered running her finger along the key cover. A piece of music slipped to the wooden floor with a wisp and finally settled upside down. Winry picked it up and almost dropped it again.

"Kiss the rain? But that's the song that I'm dancing to for my huge recital." She hissed to herself, puffs of air swirling before her plush pink lips. Edward was her pianist. That meant they were going to be spending a lot of time together. Her heart started to quicken at the thought.

"What are you doing?" The soft gentle voice echoed off the walls and bounced around the empty room. Winry slowly turned around, eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to snoop around, I was just curious and-"Whoa, calm down. It's fine. You're just lucky I found you instead of Ed, he tends to get a little testy when people touch the piano." Al said grabbing her hand and leading her out of the freezing cold room. Once they reached the living room, they both sat on the couch.

"Is it because it's your mother's?" She asked. His eyes widened, but then he relaxed and his lips formed a sad smile.

"Yes it is, brother cherishes that piano as if it were his own child." He whispered. The room was filled with a heavy silence, only the crackle of the warm fire kept it from being awkward. The grandfather clock chimed five times signaling that it was midnight. Winry stood up and grabbed her pillow.

"Thank you for letting me stay Alphonse, but I think I'm clear to go back, otherwise Kaede will flip out if he sees that I'm not in my room." She commented with a light smile.

"No problem Winry." He said hesitantly, puzzlement clear on his soft features. She nodded at him and headed towards the door. She thanked him again before stepping out into the cold hall. A shiver ran down her spine at the pounding rain and drumming thunder. She crinkled her toes as if to try and gain the warmth back, but the tile was too cold. She held her pillow closer to her slim body and scurried up the stairs as quickly as she could. Once the number 14 came in sight, she ran a little quicker. However it was yanked open before her fingers could grasp the knob.

"Where have you been missy?" Kaede asked crossing his arms. I frowned at him. "Well a nice friend of mine helped me out since you two were being louder than ever, I'm surprised you haven't woken up the whole complex yet." She said with a roll of her sapphire eyes. His face turned bright red with embarrassment.

"You're just jealous because you don't have a boyfriend." He sniped. Winry glared at him before shoving him to the side and storming to her room. She threw her pillow against the wall and nearly screamed in frustration. Instead she fell to onto the mattress with a huff and felt tears form in her eyes.

"He's right." She whispered.

Winry rubbed her heavy dark circled eyes and sipped her coffee as she examined the confusing jumbled mess that was called math. Normally, this would be a piece of cake for the blonde haired adult, but she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night because her mind was filled with regrets and most importantly Edward. She knew she was going to see him later in the day to practice Kiss the rain, and she couldn't stop thinking about his mesmerizing golden eyes. Her thoughts were broken when the bell rang. Panic came to her when she realized that she only did two problems and doodled pictures on the border during her daydream. Everyone had already filed out of the room to get some lunch

"Miss Rockbell?" The teacher ask holding up her nearly blank test. She winced and stood up.

"Can I please retake it tomorrow during my lunch, I had a really bad night, my friend went into the hospital and I stayed by her side all night." The blonde lied. It seemed to strike a heart string for the teacher when his eyes widen with sadness.

"Well I understand then, please do so. I advise that you go home and get some sleep though." He said before shuffling back over to his desk. Winry smiled in victory before throwing her backpack over her shoulder and taking her coffee into her hand and heading over to the auditorium. She quietly entered the room so she wouldn't disturb Kaede's class. He was currently dancing across the stage, demonstrating for his students. They all clapped once he finished and bowed.

"Ok, sorry I kept you after the bell everyone! Have a great day." He shouted. As the students left in large groups, Winry greeted hello to some familiar faces before walking down an aisle towards her best friend, teacher, and pretty much father.

"Hey Kaede." She said setting down her bag and coffee. He frowned at the coffee.

"Winry, how many times do I have to tell you that coffee will ruin you beautiful dancing figure!" He said snatching the mug from her palm. She growled.

"Hey! It's decaf! And I have splenda in it." She said taking it back into her grasp. He sighed and grabbed a bag from the floor and handed it to the dancer.

"Here, this is your outfit for the dance recital, Katie made sure that it represented you and the songs quite well. Why don't you go try it on and wear it for rehearsal today to get a feel for it?" He asked. The girl nodded and headed out of the room just as the two Elric's entered.

"Edward? What are you doing here?" Kaede asked. The blonde looked just as surprised.

"Well, I'm the pianist for the huge dance recital. The Yiruma pieces, he's quite an exquisite artist." He said with ease.

"Well this should be interesting." Kaede muttered. All three turned around when they heard the backstage door slam open.

"Kaede," A frustrated Winry came waltzing onto the stage, fumbling with the ties to her dress. Her bra was exposed for the men to see, not to her realization though.

"Tell Katie to make these ties a little longer, I can barely get them around my neck." She mumbled shoving her long blonde hair to the side in irritation.

"Maybe it's because you drink too much coffee." He joked. She glared at him, but blushed when she realized that the two Elric brothers were staring at her in shock. She made a really high pitched squeal and jumped behind the thick red curtain. Kaede sighed and jumped up onto the stage and went to her.

"What's wrong?" He whispered. Winry finally succeeded in wrapping the fabric around her neck and tying it into a bow, the ribbons cascaded down her exposed back.

"I'm must say Katie did a fabulous job on this, I love the design." She said ignoring his question. She twirled, making the flaps of the skirt fly up to expose the underwear of the skirt. The dress was a dark red, it started wrapping around the neck and splitting down the right side of her torso, so her right breast was exposed. Silver swirls ran down her left breast and around her hip to the back. There was a maroon bra underneath with a bead sequence donning the fabric. Her midriff was exposed slightly in the front on the right, and the skirt slanted down starting high up on her right hip and so on down. There was a black bow sewn to the right side completing the look.

"It does look great on you, your hips have gotten very defined, though your stomach is a little pudgy missy, I'll let it pass since your leg strength has grown immensely. Anyways, come out onto the stage, we need to practice." He grabbed her smooth arm and pulled the dancing beauty to the center of the stage. Edward had just reached the top of the stairs while Alphonse was sitting in a chair. Kaede sat next to him.

"Ok Winry, why don't you warm up a little, do a couple of flips for me." He shouted. She nodded and cracked her neck, bent her legs slightly to stretch out the sore muscles. Her chest stuck out from her deep breathing and she finally leaped into the air, doing a front flip and leaping across the stage. She landed on her toes, posing perfectly. She had yet to realize that during her concentration, she jumped over to Edward, who now stood right in front of her in shock. Winry opened her eyes and nearly fell over in surprise.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I should have started a little further back." She said scooting backwards towards the middle of the stage. He nodded his head slowly and walked over to the grand piano in the corner.  
"Do you want to start from the top?" Edward asked as he arranged his music and sat on the bench. The hinges on the cover creaked when he opened it. She could almost hear him take a deep breath, taking in the scent of the old piano keys and fabric lining.

"Yes please." She whispered. The auditorium was silent. Winry closed her eyes, listening for the breath of beginning. Edward's fingers finally came in contact with the keys. As he played each note, Winry moved her arms delicately in the air and threw her leg to the side and brought it back in before she started to prance across the stage elegantly. She flipped in the air and spun out to the edge. She leapt with great concentration, her pirouettes were swift and slow, with the beat of the music. Edward, who had been playing with his eyes closed, finally glanced up at the blue eyed dancer, but he instantly regretted doing so. His fingers left the keys, his eyes following the movement of her long gracious legs, her muscular arms twirling above her head delicately. She was beautiful. She was about to leap but must have realized that the music had stopped. Her gaze shifted over to him, sweat was sliding down her cheek flushed from excitement and work out.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, panting only slightly. He felt a blush come across his cheeks.

"Ah no, I just didn't know how to play this part quite well yet." He lied. She nodded and grabbed a water bottle that was near the front of the stage.

"Well why don't we move onto the river one?" She asked after taking multiple gulps of water. He swallowed thickly and nodded, shuffling through his music to find the song.

"Hey you two, me and Al are going to go get some lunch for us, why don't you take a break and chat?" Kaede said. Winry look at him with furrowed eyebrows. He gave her a knowing smirk and walked out of the auditorium. The two blondes turned to look at each other.

"Well, I guess this means you can look over that part you couldn't figure out." The blue eyed one said. Edward's golden eyes widened and then shifted to look at the music in front of him.  
"Ah, I know how to play it I was just distracted is all." He said standing from the piano bench and stretching. Winry plopped onto the floor and started to do leg stretches.

"So how long have you been dancing?" He asked sitting a good two feet away from her. She gazed over at him and raised her eyebrow.

"You know, I won't bite. And I've been dancing for about eighteen years, ever since I was three." She said grabbing her foot that was in front of her and lying her head down on her legs. Edward scooted closer to the girl.

"So that means your twenty-one?" He asked, it was more of a statement then a question though. She brought her body back up with a deep breath out. She glanced over at Edward, he was wearing tight black jeans with a black button-down shirt and black boots.

"Is black your favorite color?" She asked. Edward blushed and shook his head. "No, I like red, I just chose to wear this today." He muttered. After his answer, the air plunged into a thick awkwardness that Winry thought she could cut a knife through it.

"So Edward," She started hesitantly. "Where did you and Alphonse live before you came here to Iowa?" She asked, avoiding his intense eyes.  
"Ed is just fine please, and we've lived here all our life, we just happened to move out here to Iowa City a week ago because-" He cut himself off making her look at him.

"Because what?" She asked he shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered. Winry bit her lip and stood up.

"So how long have you been playing the piano?" She asked as she walked over to the large instrument and sat down on the bench. Winry never was very good at music, she had to play the violin in elementary, but it never suited her. She knew how to sing quite well though. Edward, or Ed, leant up against the piano and watched the girl stare at the music confusingly.

"Sixteen years, since I was five." He stated. She could hear some humor in his voice at her attempt to play what was written in front of her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a smile beginning to form on his plush lips. Her fingers hit another sour note making both wince.

"I know how to read treble and I'm trying to figure out what keys are which." She stated, before her fingers could hit the wrong key again, a larger hand grabbed her finger and placed it gently on the correct key.

"That's the A." He said. She looked up at him, his face was gentle and relaxed, something she had yet seen on the man. She scooted over to make room for him.

"Will you please show me the song?" She asked. He smiled in amusement and placed his fingers upon the black keys and played the first few measures of Kiss the Rain without the bass part.

"You are so amazing." She said in awe. He chuckled and grabbed her hand. "Practice makes perfect, though I think you know that." He said running her fingers along the right notes. She wasn't even paying attention to what she was playing, all she could think about was the warmth and gentleness of his large calloused hand.

"Ok why don't you try without me now?" He asked taking the warmth away. She nearly groaned in protest, but felt panic rise, she hadn't been listening at all. She tried to play it but failed.

"I guess I really can't play any instrument." She mumbled. "That's not true, dancing is your musical instrument, it may sound weird but it's true. Music is art, and I think dancing is definitely an art. Just the way you were so elegant and flowing across the stage like you were swimming in water. It takes so much time to become a great dancer, just as it is to become a pianist or cellist." He said. Winry felt herself blush at his compliment. "Thank you." She mumbled. She slid her finger across the keys making a note crescendo. After the piano was done echoing the notes in its chamber, the auditorium grew silent, neither blonde knowing what to say next.

"We brought food!" Kaede yelled storming into the room making the two jump up high. Alphonse was right behind him with a large smile upon his face. Edward jumped down from the stage and looked up at her

"Need help?" He asked holding up his arms. She shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine with jumping on my own thank you." She stated placing both hands on her defined hips.

"I don't think so Winry, I don't want you to risk getting injured now let Edward help you down." Kaede said getting into his father/teacher mode. She sighed and knelt down so the man could grasp her waist in his hand. She hopped off, expecting to fall quickly, but landed lightly instead. She glanced at Ed and blushed.

"Thank you." She mumbled pulling from his grasp. He stepped back and glared at Alphonse who had been stifling his laughter.  
"Ok let's eat I'm starving." Winry said grabbing the paper bag from her best friends hand.

**Ok well that was the first chapter! Woot, please don't be mad people who are real dancers! I'm not very knowledgeable about that stuff, only music, so if you wish you could help me out with some of this :3 I don't own any of the songs btw! All credit to Yiruma! He's amazing, look him up. Hope you enjoyed the first chap! And don't forget the dark side always has cookies :D.**


	2. The Angels Feathers

**Oh my thank you guy's so much for the reviews and favorites! I always made a point to reply to all of them, but some people don't sign in when they leave a review so I can't reply, so I'm going to reply to them before the chapter begins, if you reviewed I will answer you :D If not go on and continue the story as you please :D**

**Neusuada: Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And of course I will :D Thank you for the review!**

**TheMistOfThePast: Awe thank you so much! I'm glad you like the idea! Thank you! Yes Yiruma is just amazing his music can bring me into a whole other world! Haha I'm glad that I did fake it well enough, I was just worried it was really cheesy. I love the dress too, I looked for the perfect one on google, it took me half an hour, and I finally found it. Thank you for your review!**

**Soprana: Yeah, I don't know where the idea came from haha. Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it, I shall continue! Thank you for the review**

**Anthenfrodite: Ah thank you! I'm glad you like it! Yeah sorry about that, I did say it had nothing to do with the manga or anime, but sorry it was confusing! ^.^' I shall update as soon as possible! Thanks for the review!**

**Nerdygangsta: yes Yiruma is quite amazing! Thank you for the review  
**

**Ok that's done, sorry it was really long! Haha, continue on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the FMA characters, or the beautiful songs written by Yiruma I own Kaede and Katie though. Oh and this lovely plot**

**Song list: May be, River Flows in you, Kiss the Rain, It's your day. There will be more to come :D**

**Chapter 2: The angels feathers**

The two friends stared at each other, one had his hands positioned under his chin while the other had her lips on the tip of her straw, sipping up the cold lemonade. It was silent except for the quiet banter of the café, and the shifting of the ice in the girls' cup.

"Well?" Kaede asked making her sigh and unwrap her lips from the bendy straw. She shook her head and slid the drink to the side.

"It's ridiculous Kaede! I'm not going to go along with this." She said grabbing a cold French fry from the basket in between them. Kaede sighed and gazed up at the umbrella that shaded them from the sun.

"It's only a harmless get together Winry, stop being such a baby." He said snatching away her French fries.

"Hey I was eating those!" She snapped grabbing it back from his hands.  
"Yeah, maybe so but you'll regret it when you start getting little muffins." He said

flicking her side. She giggled and flicked the French fry at his face.

"Shut up I enjoy my food thank you very much. Anyways, I don't think it's a good idea

Kaede. And it's more than a harmless get together, it's a date, and I don't like the idea. You and Alphonse might think it is, but I know Edward doesn't like me." She said. He raised an eyebrow.

"But do you like him?" He asked leaning in closer. She sighed.

"Sometimes I swear you are way to in touch with your feminine side." She muttered throwing some money on the table for the waiter.

"Hey, I'm Bi! Not Gay ok. And what's so bad about me being interested in your love life?" He asked standing up and placing his coat on. She copied his movement.

"I don't have a love life and you know it." She said simply. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know Winry, I'm trying to show you that you can fall in love you know, and dating Edward is the first step, I swear when Al and I walked into the auditorium the other day I could feel the sexual tension." He teased. She slapped his arm.

"Shut up you idiot!" She rolled her eyes. He grasped her hand in his and swung it back and forth.

"You know you never answered my question." He said. She gave him a side glance. "What?" She asked, already fearing the next thing that would come out of his lips.

"Do you like Edward?" He asked. She shook her head. "Of course not! I've only known him for a couple of bloody days! What makes you think I would like a bumbling idiot like him?!" She yelled.

"Wow, you pretty much just told you me you want to marry the guy." He said watching her blush grow redder than an apple. "And what's with the bloody? Are you British now?" He asked. She glared at him.

"Ok so what, I have a little crush on him, it's not like it will last Kaede." She said trying desperately to convince him not to continue with the plans of a date.

"Now Winry, we both know that you only have crushes in high school, we are clearly in college." He said wagging his finger in front of her face. They both had stopped at the light, waiting to cross the street to the Old Capitol. She ignored him and glanced up at the golden dome shimmering in the light.

"Don't you think that capitol is gorgeous?" She asked. He glanced up at the large building also. "Eh, the one in Des Moines is better. Anyways, Winry, please! You have to do this." He begged as they crossed the street onto campus grounds.

"Alright, I'll do it if you just shut up!" She yelled. He jumped in victory. She sighed.

"What will we be doing?" She asked. He smirked. "Well, turns out the brother's are loaded because their dad is a business man. So Al has gotten you reservations for a really nice place. So this requires you to dress up nicely. Also, after the dinner, you two are required to spend at least two hours together." He said.

"Kaede! You know I don't have any nice clothes! What am I going to do?" She asked. He smirked and shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing." He said. Winry sighed and followed him inside the University to rehearse her recital.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this." She muttered pulling the strap back onto her shoulder. She gazed into the mirror, not recognizing her own reflection. Katie stood behind her tightening the corset ties.

"You look beautiful Winry, he won't be able to keep his eyes off of you." She said. Winry felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. This would be her first date since her sophomore year in high school, she was definitely inexperienced.

"That's not the problem Kay, I'm not sure about this date altogether, I barely know him." She said running her fingers down the black beading and fabric.

"I didn't know Kaede when he asked me on a date. Winry, this is real life now, not high school, you should know that. You have to find your man by searching, not by knowing." She said finishing up with the ties. "There all done." She said looking over her own work. She had made the dress in one day just for Winry. The fabric was a silky indigo color with a slit on her left leg and pooled at her feet. Starting with the straps, they were made with a black fabric and it trailed over the top of her sweetheart neckline, it then crossed to either side down to her hips then went straight down to the slit of her leg and wisped up out from the one strip. The whole strips of black were beaded with leaves. Her arms were donned with long black gloves and her feet homed the same indigo colored shoes.

"I have to say Kay, this is amazing." She said brushing her fingers through her long blonde hair. "Thank you, I think it's some of my best work." She said handing her the purse.

"Ok are you ready for this?" She asked. Winry nodded slowly and grabbed her shawl.

"I'm so freaking nervous Kay, what should I do?" She whispered. The brunette laughed and hugged her tightly.

"You'll be fine Winry, just be yourself. Ok let's go." She opened the bedroom door and jumped out.

"Gentlemen," She said. Winry gulped, she knew that the Elric's were here now. She heard them enter only minutes ago, this would be the first time she had seen Ed since she decided to go on this date. She was still debating whether he came willingly, or if Al was forcing him to do this. "I now present Miss Winry Rockbell!" She gestured to the dressed up girl in the room. Winry gulped and slowly walked out of her safe confinements. She stared at her shoes, not daring to look into Edward's eyes. She heard a bunch of gasps making her look up. The three men were staring at her in astonishment. She nearly felt her eyes bulge out at the sight of the elder Elric. He was dressed in a black suit; his long blonde hair was tied into a braid that fell just between his shoulder blades.

"Wow you look amazing." They both said at the same time, making both blush and look away. Alphonse clapped his hands together.

"Well you two should get going! I brought the car up to the front, go on have fun." He shoved the two into the hall and slammed the door closed. They both turned to each other.

"Shall we?" Ed asked holding out his hand. She stared at it and then back at him. "I don't know." She whispered. He sighed. "Listen, I'm unsure about this just as much as you are, I'm sorry you got dragged into this, but let's at least to try and have some fun." He said with a smile. She hesitantly took his hand and walked with him down the stairs. Once they reached the car, Ed opened the door for her and then closed it. She examined the leather interior and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked as he turned on the ignition. She sighed.

"I love the smell of leather, is this a new car?" She asked as he zoomed down the streets onto the freeway.

"Yep, we got it two days ago when we moved here." He said. They stayed silent as the engine roared. "So Edward, did you have any girlfriends before you came over here?" She asked quietly, scared to see his reaction.

"Nope, I didn't really have time for girls, though I did have a huge crush on this girl in high school, but she never noticed me, I was just the science geek, and ork dork." He said.

"Really? I thought someone like you would be really popular during high school." She said. Ed raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" He asked taking a glance at the beauty next to him.

"Well because you are extremely attractive…" She trailed off her sentence, realizing what she had just said out loud. Ed started to laugh heartily.

"Thank you Winry, I wish I could have met you earlier." He said. She blushed and played with her purse as they were plunged into silence again.

"So you said you were into science? What kind?" She asked. He slowed the car to a stop because of so much traffic.

"Well, I love any kind really, mostly chemistry though." He said. She could practically feel his irritation seething off his body. She gulped.

"Learn how to drive you damn idiots!" He yelled stomping on the brake. She took a deep breath to calm herself from the almost accident that happened. Edward saw that she was tense.

"So, what about you, did you have a boyfriend?" He asked. She nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I did. But he was a jerk, so it's in the past." She said. The air was tense and Ed sighed.

"You look beautiful tonight Winry." He said quietly, switching on the windshield wipers as rain started to pour down. "Thank you Edward, you look very nice too." She said. They finally passed the traffic and were cruising along the road.

"Ed, you should probably slow down or you're going to Hydroplane." She said. He growled.

"Don't tell me how to drive, I'm perfectly fine, I'm not going to Hydro-"He stopped his sentence when the car started to swerve and slid down the side of the road. Once the car stopped safely, Ed tried to drive back up, but the tires were slicked in mud. Ed sighed and killed the engine

"I think I just Hydroplaned." He muttered. Winry sighed and squinted her eyes to look up at the road.

"I can't see anything, it's raining too hard." She said. Ed turned to her. "I'm sorry, I should have listened to you." He said. She shook her head.

"Let's just call Al and Kaede and tell them to come pick us up, no big deal, we can just have this date another night." She said pulling out her cell phone. She closed her eyes when the light of her phone glared at her face.

"Damn, no signal, looks like we're stuck here." She said placing the phone back into her purse.

"Well," Ed took off his seatbelt and started to search in the back seat. "Why don't we play some cards? I also have some crackers and apple juice boxes." He said holding them up. Winry giggled.

"Charming. Why do you even have that stuff in here?" She asked taking off her shrug. He shrugged.

"I don't know, Al likes to snack when he's driving so he probably stashed these in here. As for the cards, I have no idea." He said. She grabbed the crackers from his hands and started to munch on them.

"I'm starving." She said. He laughed and turned to face her in his seat. He started to deal the cards out.

"Ok so what are we playing exactly?" She asked sucking on the straw to the juice pack. He smirked up at her. "If you're daring enough, strip poker." He said. She blushed. "NO! I don't want to do that." She said.

"Ok I guess you're just to chicken enough." He said trying to rile her up. She glared at him. "Bring it on blondie." She said turning in her seat also. He started to deal the cards.

"Hey Edward?" She asked. He hmmed and looked up at her. "I don't know how to play poker." She said. He nearly fell over from laughing so hard.

"Shut up! I was never taught!" She yelled, feeling her face heat up. He shook his head. "It's fine, we can just play war, once you lose five wars, you have to take a piece of clothing off, starting with the shoes, then we go up to the hair, and down." He said. She nodded. They both flipped over a card.

"Ha! Five beats a two. Looks like that's one for you Winry." Ed said taking the two cards and placing them in a neat pile to the side.

"Ok go!" They both yelled. Once again Ed shouted in victory and piled the cards together. "That's two." He said. A few minutes later, Winry had lost all first five levels.

"Ok Winry, off come the shoes." Ed said neatly piling his victory cards together. She growled and bent down to unbuckle the heels.

"They won't come off!" She growled her irritation rising. "Let me see it." Ed said. She flipped her legs over the middle console so he could see the buckle of her shoes. He felt a blush rising on his cheeks as his fingers kept brushing her smooth skin. "There you go." He said handing her the shoes. She thanked him and shuffled her cards.

"Bring it on Elric!"

Ten minutes later, Edward had both shoes taken off and now he had take off his hair tie. He slid the rubber band from his hair and left it.

"I don't think so, you have to untangle it from the braid." She said. He sighed and did as she was told, letting his long blonde hair fall onto his shoulders.

"There happy?" He asked picking his cards back up. "You know, the next thing you have to take off is your dress, you better be careful." He said with a sly smirk. She blushed and placed her card down, she had already lost four times, she only needed one more. She closed her eyes when Ed placed his card down.  
"Haha, dress comes off now!" He said. She growled. "That's not fair Ed! I have less clothing than you." She whined. He placed his cards down and slid his coat off and untied his tie.

"There happy? Now strip, unless you're too scared!" He said. She growled and grabbed the bottom of her dress. She slowly slid it up and off her body, revealing her undergarments.

"Ok let's continue." She mumbled. She got no reply though and looked up at her companion.

"Ed?" She asked. He was gazing at her body in awe. She blushed and covered up. "Stop staring you perv!" She yelled. He blushed and looked away.

"Sorry. Let's continue." He placed another card down. "Haha I win Ed! The shirt comes off mister!" She yelled. He sighed and slowly un-buttoned the shirt. Winry gulped in anticipation watching his fingers maneuver down. He shrugged off the sleeves and threw it to the side. Winry felt her eyes grow wide at the site of his muscular stomach.

"Hey stop staring you perv." He mimicked her. She stuck her tongue out at him and placed another card down.

"Ed, I'm cold." She whispered shivering slightly. He sighed and looked around.

"Here take my shirt." He said handing it to her. She wrapped it around her shoulders. She glanced up at the man in front of her waiting for him to place his card down. Instead he placed his whole hand down.

"Winry, I don't really want to play anymore." He said. She nodded and tossed the cards into the pile. He put them back in the box.

"You can put your dress back on you know." He said grabbing a cracker and nibbling on it. She shook her head.

"Nah, it's a nice dress and all, but it's uncomfortable to wear it for too long, so can I just keep your shirt?" She asked. He nodded. As she buttoned it up, Ed gazed out at the pouring rain.

"What are we going to do? It would be stupid to run out there because we would just get sick, but we need help." He said lying his seat back. Winry did the same and turned to look at him.

"We can just sit here and talk, how about that?" She said, tucking the shirt under her bottom. She took a deep breath of his cologne.

"Your shirt smells really good." She muttered, sniffing it again. He turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She felt his gaze on her and blushed.

"I say that because my dad had the same cologne. I always loved it. I would steal his shirts when he left on trips and sleep in them so it felt like he was there." She said bringing the collar of the shirt closer to her face.

"What do your parents do?" He asked grabbing a blanket from the back and placing it around his torso. She sighed.

"They were Doctors. They both died in a car crash when I was ten. I was actually in that crash, but I only came out with a few scrapes and a broken arm. My dad had died immediately when the semi hit our car because it hit the driver side. My mom's head was bashed into the side window sending her into a coma, which only lasted a couple of hours until she passed. I lived with my granny for a while until I left for college, that's when I met Kaede." She said feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"You didn't have to tell me that." He said. She shook her head. "I was the one that suggested talking, anyways, it's a lot easier to talk about it now than it was when I was in high school. But I still miss them so much." She said. Ed bit his lip.

"Where was your boyfriend during your high school years?" He asked. Winry paled and she quickly redirected a question at him.

"So what about, what does your father do?" She asked. He looked taken aback, but then his expression soured.

"I don't really have great connections with my father. See he left my family when I was only three, I don't really remember him too well, but because of him, my mother's sickness got worse and her body weakened drastically. One day she collapsed while we were shopping, and we had almost lost her that day, but she hung on for another year until she passed. That bastard didn't even make it to her funeral. I had to grow up pretty fast in order to take care of my brother, because we had no idea where Hohenheim was at the time. He eventually showed up when we were in high school. He told us that he was a successful business man and that we got a lot of his money too. Sure living with him made Al happy, but I've never been able to forgive him." He said. Winry wiped her tears away at the sad story. "So all in all, my dad's a business man and my mother was never able to leave the house because of us and the sickness." He said. He glanced up at the crying blonde and sighed.

"I'm sorry I made you sad." He said holding out his arms. She climbed over the middle and into his arms. It was a tight squeeze because of the steering wheel, but they were both comfortable. Ed wrapped the blanket around her to keep her warm.

"Looks like we both had pretty shitty pasts." She mumbled into his neck. He nodded and gulped. She was tempting him, and it wasn't good at all. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"So why did you avoid my question earlier?" He asked. She instantly stiffened and held onto him tighter.

"I can't tell you Ed. I've never told anyone other than Kaede, it's really hard." She whispered. He placed his hand on her head and slowly pet her silky locks.

"I understand if it's too hard Winry, you don't have to tell me." He said. His voice was shaking slightly, expecting the worse. Did he die? Did he cheat on her? Did he sleep with another woman? Was he gay? Did he rape her? So many things that could have happened, yet he could be over reacting

"Edward, I think is the best date I've ever had, even if we didn't get to eat a fancy dinner, and I'm starving." She stated with a smile. He blushed and looked away from her blue eyes.

"I'm glad you're having fun Win." He said. She frowned and titled her head. "What did you call me?" She asked. He turned to look at her and smiled. "Win." She blushed and smiled back at him.

"I like it." She whispered lying her head back down onto his chest. She could hear his heart beating gently. "Are you ok now?" He asked making her lift her head back up. She nodded.

"Much, I'm glad we got to know each other a little, thank you." She said staring at him. He raised his eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She glanced at his lips then back up at his eyes. Gold melded with blue as she slowly leaned in and pressed her lips gently against his. His eyes were wide with surprise, while she just stared in amusement. She pressed into the kiss slowly, taking in the taste of mint and crackers. He pulled away from her and touched his lips.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She giggled. "Thanking you for tonight." She said moving back over to her seat. He blushed, his lips still tingling.

"Edward, was that your first kiss?" She asked slowly. He glared at her. "NO!" He yelled crossing his arms. Winry giggled. "You know I think it's sweet. There are few guys out there that actually wait until marriage to have sex, which is sad, might I add, and here you are, and you haven't kissed a girl yet. Honestly I wish I could take back my first kiss. It was at a football game, and I got dared into it without knowing it. Honestly I wish I still had my lip virginity." She said. This comment made Edward laugh. "Lip virginity? I've never heard that before." He said. She shrugged.

"Well now you have. Anyways, are you disappointed that I was your first kiss?" She asked. He threw a smile her way. "Not in particular." He said making her heart flutter. The car was quiet afterwards.

"Hey what time is it?" Ed asked. Winry pulled out her phone. "It's almost midnight." She said. They both gazed out the window at the pouring rain.

"Do you think they're worried about us?" She asked. Ed shook his head. "They probably just think that the date is going really well. Do you think we should go look for a place with a phone?" He asked. Winry pulled the shirt closer to her.

"No, I really don't feel like getting wet, we can just stay here until morning, or until it stops raining." She said lying back into her seat. Ed looked over at the girl sitting next to him.

"You know, you can sleep in the backseat if you want." He said. She shook her head. "No I'm fine where I am, thank you though." She paused, debating whether she should say what's on her mind, or not.

"Ed, did you willingly come on this date, or did Al force you to?" She asked, afraid to look at him. "Well, at first I was skeptical, but then I thought why not, I would be able to get to know you better, considering we will be spending a lot of time together in this next month because of your recital." He stated. "What about you?" He asked. She bit her lip. "Well I came willingly; I wanted to get to know you better too." She mumbled. Ed was quiet, so she turned to look at him and saw his back was to her.

"Good night Edward." She mumbled. No reply

Winry jumped up from what she thought was her bed and hit her head hard on something, making her fall back down. She groaned in pain and opened her eyes. She looked around and remembered that they fell asleep in Ed's car. She noticed that the blonde was missing though. She frowned and looked around outside, spotting nothing but trees.

"Where did he go?" She asked out loud. She opened her car door and stepped out. She pulled the shirt down so that it covered her under wear and stretched. Edward had just walked up with two cups of coffee in his hand. He stared at the dancer, taking in her full appearance. His shirt was obviously too large for her and fell down to just above her knees, showing off her long pale legs. He gulped and continued to walk forth with the cups in hand.

"Hey, did you sleep well?" He asked startling her. She looked over at him and nodded.

"For being in a car, I guess so. My neck is just killing me though. What do you have there?" She asked stepping over to him. He handed her the warm cup.

"Coffee, I just put some creamer and a couple of teaspoons of sugar, you don't seem like the kind of person to like sweet coffee." He said before sipping from his cup. She drank some and pulled it away from her soft lips.

"It tastes great, thanks Ed." She said with a smile. He smiled back at her and walked around to the other side of the car. They both got in and sat in the silence while drinking their coffee.

"So did you go get this coffee shirtless?" She asked gesturing to his lack of clothing. He shook his head. "I found a shirt in the back, but it was Al's, he has a smaller build than me, so it was a little tight, I didn't want to keep it on though." He said placing his cup in the holder.

"Do you think they're freaking out?" She asked pulling out her cell phone. He shook his head and turned on the engine.

"I was able to get a hold of Al. I told him what happened and that we would try to be home as soon as possible. They all went to class though, so they won't be home." He said pressing on the gas. The car lurched forward. "Sorry." He mumbled. He looked both ways before he turned back onto the road.

"Do you feel like going to class?" She asked. He shook his head. "Not at all, I'm too tired and my neck is stiff. What do you say we stay home and practice a little for the recital? If you feel like it that is." He said. She nodded.

"Sounds like fun." She said. The car ride was silent the rest of the way home. Ed parked the car and looked over at her.  
"Get all of your stuff and meet me in my apartment, the door will be un-locked." He said getting out of the car. Winry grabbed all of her clothing and looked all around the car to make sure no one was around before she bolted to the front door. She didn't stop running until she was safely in her room. She sighed and fell down the door. After seconds of silence she squealed loudly and started to jump up and down around the room until she collapsed on her bed.

"I went on a date with Edward Elric." She muttered hugging her pillow close to her. Sure she felt like a teenager all over again, but those years were wasted to her. She wasn't able to have a normal teenaged life. She jumped up from her bed and glanced into the mirror. His shirt was definitely too large for her, but she loved it and wished she could keep it. She took another strong sniff of his cologne before un-buttoning it and throwing it onto her bed. She grabbed her tights and leotard and brushed out her hair before running to the front door.

"Wait I should probably brush my teeth, I have coffee breath." She muttered running to the bathroom. Once that was done, she took a calm collective breath and walked down the stairs to Ed and Al's apartment. She opened the door like he had instructed her to do and was met with the sound of River flows in you. She closed her eyes and sighed. His playing was so beautiful. She walked over to the room and slowly walked in, watching his body sway with the music that his fingers created. His eyes were closed gently, his breathing was steady. She tip-toed across the room, trying to figure out where he was in the song. She realized that it was near the beginning and decided to start her pirouettes where the main part was played. She kicked out her legs and leapt in the air coming to a slow near the piano. She took her steps carefully and brought one hand to the ground and swung her leg up and over her head. Her arms where flying about in different patterns while her feet never left the beat of the music. Her hair was flying with her movements, wiping every which way, acting almost as elegant as the dancer. She stuck her leg straight up and grabbed her ankle when a pause came near the end. She slowly let it fall down to the floor and then jumped up legs flying on either side of her. She rolled down to the ground and got onto her forearms, her legs spread out as if she were doing the splits. She pulled her legs forward and did a somersault and moved her arms as the beat slowed down, and then lied down sliding her body out a little. The room was quiet as the piano rang out the last notes.

"That was amazing Winry." Edward said breaking her out of her dancing stupor. She stood up and looked over at him.

"I wouldn't have been able to dance that well without you. I've always had problems with the ending because I had a recording and I never knew when the last beats were. But now that I have you, I did it perfectly. Thank you." She said walking over to him. He handed her a water bottle.

"Just watching you dance it amazing. The way you are so focused and your elegance when you jump and spin. I can barely take my eyes off of you." He said staring at the keys. She giggled.

"You're the same way. You look so peaceful when you play; I almost didn't join in because I was mesmerized by you." She admitted, her face glowing red. He smiled at her.

"Thank you." He said quietly. She put her water bottle down and sat next to him. "Teach me something." She said. He raised his eyebrows and placed his hands on the keys and played the main part to River flows in you. She watched his every movement, trying to memorize what he played.

"Ok now you try." He said. She hesitantly placed her hand onto the wooden keys and tried to play what he did. She got all of the notes right, only hers was much slower and very stiff instead of flowing like Ed's was. She huffed in annoyance.

"Hey don't get frustrated, playing the piano comes to me natural just like dance does for you." He said placing his hand on top of hers.

"Just be patient and you will get the hang of it." He said. She nodded slowly. "Will you play Kiss the Rain for me please?" She asked quietly. He nodded and shuffled through the music and placed it in the front. He set his fingers and took a deep breath and took off gently. Each note was quiet and delicate, until the bass part started went deeper and started to move more. His hands were in perfect sync as he moved lower down the board. She could hear the peddle moving up and down as he pressed it to gain more echo to the notes. He brought himself into a short retardant and built up coming back to the main theme. She watched his finger bounce back and forth, and then they set before moving back down to the lower section. He moved right back and was playing the main theme again. Her eyes were glued to his hands that were now moving into a different key quietly. She felt startled slightly when he got louder but felt her eyes slowly close as he neared the end with an exaggerated retardant. His fingers finally settled on the last set of notes before he pulled away with a deep breath. Winry opened her eyes and looked over at him.

"You truly are amazing." She whispered, scared to talk too loudly. He smiled and took his foot off of the golden peddle.

"Thank you Winry, any other song you wish to hear?" He asked. She thought for a second and gazed at his music. She ruffled through it before she pulled out May be by Yiruma.

"I haven't heard this one yet." She said. He nodded and set his fingers once again. The notes melded together perfectly, his pauses were precise and steady. The pace was slow and happy. Winry closed her eyes and smiled. The beat was slightly happier than the other two, yet had a sad tone to it. Ed shifted his hand down lower and the quickly went back up when required by a couple of notes. His hands were moving so quickly she could barely keep up. He let up some of the weight to quiet down and slowed to a stop letting the notes echo in the chamber. He then started up again and this time a little slower. The song suddenly sounded a little sad, until he moved back up to the main part. She felt her body swaying with the music. Ed started to slow down more and more until he stopped slightly and started to move up the board one key at a time until his fingers set for the final note. She smiled.

"Beautiful." She said. He smiled and placed the music back where it was. "Thank you, I have another one by him that you aren't dancing to, would you like to hear it?" He asked pulling out the song. Winry nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course I would." She said examining the title, it read It's your day. He started out in the lower section playing the same thing twice before his right hand went up higher. She felt herself smiling at the happier tune. It made her want to dance. So she stood up and started to dance whatever came to her mind. She heard Ed laughing at her merriment. She smiled and walked over to him.

"You should dance with me." She said holding out her hands. He stopped playing and stared up at her.

"But, I don't know how to dance and I'm your music source." He said. She rolled her eyes and ran over to her laptop. It was quiet in the room for awhile until It's your day started to blast from her computer. She ran back over to him and grabbed his hands.

"Trust me Ed, I didn't know how to play the piano but did that stop me?" She asked. He nodded his head slowly and finally stood up. She let go of his hands.

"Come on just do anything that comes to your mind." She said. He shook his head. "No, you really do not want to see me dance." He said. She gave him a stern look. He sighed and started to sway side to side moving his arms about. This sent the girl into a fit of giggles making Edward blush.

"Shut up! I told you I suck at dancing." He said. She shook her head and grabbed his hands.

"No it's just because you're really cute. Oh and you also suck, but that doesn't matter right? As long as you're having fun, now just follow me." She grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started to move them across the floor. Her feet were elegant while he was fumbling.

"Ok Ed now you're going to spin me." She grabbed his and spun out and back into his arms. He stumbled back a bit but got back into the rhythm with her.

"See, you aren't as bad as you said." She said with a smile. He nodded. She broke away from him and started to spin and flip in the air away from him, her arms flailing about with the beat. He watched her in awe. She leapt at an angle and landed right in front of him. This surprised him which caused him to fall back and grasp her arm in attempt to stay up, but they both tumbled to the ground. The two blonde looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"You know I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid." Winry said rolling off of Ed onto her back. This caused him to look over at her.

"Same here, when I started high school my life slowly dulled." He said. She smiled at him softly.  
"I'm glad we met then Mr. Elric." She said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the smile from forming on his lips.  
"Same here Winry." He mumbled.

**AWE its tons and tons and tons of Winry and Edward goodness! I had another idea for this chapter but I erased it because I didn't like it. I'm glad that I used this one because it worked out soooo much better. Sooo there's some foreshadowing in this chapter and I hope it gets you excited to find out what happened with Winry and her boy toy in high school. Any guesses? Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Remember the dark side always has cookies :D**


	3. The broken glass

**Holy sweet baby Jesus! So many reviews and favorites! Thank you all so much. You shall get your replies now read them as you wish :) **

**Rock Alchemist: Yeah I'm constantly listening to the songs as I write, I even made a playlist on my I-pod so I wouldn't forget the songs that I picked ha-ha. Well I'm really glad that you're enjoying it! Thank you for the review :D**

**DarkForestWolf: Awe thank you! I'm glad you think so! I definitely will :D Thank you for the review :D**

**Soprana: Thank you so much! It was one of my favorite chapters, thank you for the review :D**

**Starjade 101: Awe thank you! I'm glad you think so! And I hope you enjoy chapter 3, much is revealed, thank you for reviewing :D**

**JaclynKailiegh: Thank you, I loved writing the strip poker, I had just recently watching a show where they played the game and I thought why not? And guess what you get to find out what happens! Thank you for the review! :D**

**Ok just so you know, the list of songs for Winry's recital are: Do you, Time forgets, If I could see you again, When the love falls (a new found love of mine go listen to it! :D), May be, River Flows in you, Kiss the Rain, and Dream. Listening to the songs at the specific parts where I write them would help with getting the image :D So please do so if you wish. Also if you've never listened to Yiruma, trust me you will fall in love with his music! Anyways on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the awesomeness of FMA or Yiruma's songs. I own the delicious plot and Kaede and Katie :D oh on the side note, in all reality of coming up with Kaede he really isn't bi, I just made him that way in this story.**

**Chapter 3: The broken glass**

"One and two and three and one and two and- no Winry it's a leap to the side and then you spin." Kaede instructed. Said dancer sighed heavily and ran back to the other side of the stage to complete that same dance move she's been doing for over an hour.  
"Kaede please, can't we just call Ed over here? I can't do this without him." She said taking a drink of water. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry; he said he was busy with something very important. I know your frustrated Winry, but we need to get this done, the recital is in two weeks and you still have to learn four other dances." He said. She collapsed onto the stage and groaned.

"Why?" She drawled out. He laughed. "Ok take a break and I will give you the new music to listen to." He said climbing up onto the stage next to her.

"What are the names of the new songs?" She asked sitting back up slowly so she wouldn't create a head rush. He grabbed the music from where it was sitting at the front and handed it to her.

"Do you, if time forgets, if I could see you again, and when the love falls." He said handing her the sheet music. "I listened to them, they sounded perfect to put in the group that we already have." He said. She nodded and stood back up.

"Ok can we run over Dream again?" She asked. He nodded and jumped from the stage and readied himself at the stereo.

"Ready five six seven eight." He counted slowly switching on the music. She started with a sitting position on the ground placed her hands in the air, patting it with the beginning keys. She rolled over at the pause and came up to her feet. She spun across the stage gaining momentum and then leapt, spreading her arms out wide to the side before she swung back in and closed her eyes taking in a deep breath and bringing her body down slowly and then back up. She did a kick wave and did two flips following that. She walked on her tip toes and struck her leg out and then leapt across the stage into a bout of pirouettes. She finished with a kick to the air and fell to her knees and stared into the audience, her head tilted ever so slightly. She spotted Ed and Al standing next to Kaede clapping their hands widely.

"It's much better, but you were off by a beat near the end though. Do you want to practice May be now that Edward is here?" He asked. She nodded and stood up from her sitting position. Ed came up onto the stage and took his place at the piano. She grabbed the new music and walked over to him.

"I'm glad you're here, Kaede has been patronizing me and I'm about ready to shoot him." She whispered handing him the music. He chuckled and took it.

"Sorry I was late, I'll tell you about it later, for now let's hope you nail the move this time." He said with a wink. She blinked in surprise and felt her heart beat fluttering like a bees wings. She slowly walked to the middle of the stage in a daze. Ever since that date they had a week ago, the two blondes have been so much closer, and Winry was starting to feel very giddy whenever she thought of him, or even saw him. He started to play the music and she complied with dancing along with the beat. Edward kept his eyes on her form as she danced. He was praying that she would be able to remember that one part Kaede had been very strict about. He watched her feet prance along the stage, moving along with the difficult steps. He felt his heart beat quicken when she did a series of flips with the excitement of the music, praying she didn't hurt herself. Then it came, the one part the Winry has been cursing for the past week. Ed held his breath watching in anticipation as she leapt up and spun in circles. He was about to jump up and cheer in success, but she fell down. He stopped playing and rushed over to her. She slammed her fist on the ground.

"Damn it! Why can't I get this?!" She yelled. Ed grasped her arms and helped her up. "Are you hurt?" He asked quietly, wiping away the tears that had fallen from her beautiful eyes. She nodded her head slightly.

"My ankles are hurting a little, and I'm just frustrated that I can't get this." She said, more tears spilling down her cheeks. He sighed and looked over to Kaede.

"Hey, she said her ankles are starting to ache, I think we should stop." He said. The purple eyed mentor nodded and tossed an ice pack at Edward.

"Cheer her up Ed. I'm going to start thinking of ways to choreograph your new dances." He said with a smile. With that the two other men left the auditorium. Ed pushed Winry to the ground gently and examined her ankles.

"Is it both of them?" He asked lifting up her right leg and placing the ice pack around the ankle. She nodded sullenly. He sighed.

"Winry, you know it takes some people a long time to learn some things, don't get mad because you can't get it quite yet. I know it's frustrating, trust me, I want to flip the piano over sometimes when I'm playing music because I can't get a measure or something." He said. His statement made a small smile spread across her face.

"Now that's an image." She murmured making him laugh. She looked up at him; tears were fresh on her lashes and cheeks. He smiled at her.

"You know, I thought you looked amazing while dancing to Dream." He said wiping away some of her tears. She felt a blush spread across her cheeks at his kind gesture and comment.

"Thank you Ed." She mumbled. He stood up and held out his hand for her to take. As they walked over to the piano, Ed kept shooting glances at the dancer next to him. He is still debating on what this one girl did to him to make him feel this happy. Once they were seated on the bench she brushed her fingers over the keys.

"You know Ed, I may have only known you for two weeks, but I feel like you're my best friend." She whispered pulling out the song when the love falls. He gazed over at her and smiled.

"I feel the same." He said placing his hands on the keys. From the looks of the key signature, this was going to be a depressing song. He started to play and knew right away that he was right. He squinted his eyes to make sure he was playing it right. He finished the intro and came to the main section the first note starting in a pianissimo. He played the notes delicately and watched his sharps and flats. He heard Winry sniffling as he ended the main set and went back to playing the lower part. As that drawled out, he came up to forte and set his foot on the peddle, pushing up and down to give his playing more effect. He then crept into a piano as his right hand found its way to the higher keys. He noticed the notes were pretty much the same until the very end. So he chanced a glance at the girl next to him. She was watching his hands with concentration, seeming awed of how his fingers moved along the wood. He waved his un-moving pinky at her making her blink in surprise and look over at him. He shrugged and finished out the last few measures with a retardant. He slowly lifted his fingers from the keys and turned to look at Winry.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She wiped at her cheeks and blushed.

"The song was so depressingly beautiful. I can't wait to see my dance to it." She said. He smiled. What was this girl doing to him? He never used to be this open to people, especially girls, so why now? Winry reached up and closed the lid to the chamber and stretched her arms above her head.

"Thank you Ed, your playing always tends to cheer me up, no matter depressing or not." She said. He also stood up.

"Your welcome I guess, would you like to go get something to eat?" He asked. She nodded and picked up her bag from the side. Ed watched her move as he gathered his music and placed it into a folder. He sighed and shook his head, what was wrong with him?

"You ok Ed?" She asked turning around to look at him. He looked up in surprise and nodded before walking over to her side.

"Where do you going to school Ed?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"That was random, but I don't go to school, I graduated college earlier." He said. She looked at him in surprise.

"So does that mean you're like a freaking genius?" She asked making him laugh. She frowned and glared at him. "I guess you could say so?" He said questioningly. This only made Winry giggle.

"Come on genius, I'm starving." She said pulling him along.

There were a bunch of people standing around the apartment complex looking up. Both Ed and Winry frowned and ran over to the area. They were met with the scent of smoke and both started to cough.

"What happened?" She asked to no one in particular. Some people turned their head, acknowledging the fact that she actually asked a question.

"Well, I think it was room fifteen, someone left a candle burning, the entire apartment in ruined. And room fourteen got scarred all around the living room." Someone said. Winry's heart beat sped up in panic. Room 14? She looked over at Ed with wide eyes.

"But that's my room." She said. He looked surprised at her statement. "Which one? Fifteen or fourteen?" He asked. She held up four fingers, not being able to speak. She felt sick to her stomach; it seemed nothing ever went right in her life.

"Winry, it's going to be ok, only part of the apartment got burned, all you need to do is stay somewhere else while they fix it up." He said grasping her hand in comfort.

"Winry!" The two flipped their heads to the side to see Kaede and Alphonse running up to them. "What happened?" They both asked. Ed explained to them as a firefighter walked up to the front of the crowd.

"The fire is out people! Please file one at a time back to you places. Can apartments fifteen and fourteen come see me?" He yelled. Winry looked over at Kaede and he nodded sullenly. They grasped each other's hands and walked over and stood next to the owners of apartment fifteen. The couple was hugging, the girl in tears and the man in wallowing guilt.

"Officer, how is our room?" Winry asked, her voice shaking. He shook his head. "Well, it could be worse, the entire living room is scorched from the fire next door, but the rest is un-harmed. The only bad news is that part of the room is so weak that it could crumble so we can't have you living in there, we will escort you to gather all of your things, and we will inform you when it is all back together." He said. Winry shivered and nodded.

"Where are we going to stay Kaede?" She asked. He pulled out his phone. "Katie's, the only problem is all of her rooms are filled, so I would sleep on the couch." He said. Winry shook her head.

"No Kaede I will sleep on the couch, I really don't mind." She said. He glared at her.

"Winry,-"She can stay with us, we have an extra bedroom." Al said coming up from behind the two dancers. Winry glanced at the brothers and blushed.

"No I couldn't ask you to do that." She said, not daring to look at Edward. Sharing an apartment with Edward was the last thing she ever wanted to do. So many different things could happen, and they were playing over and over in her mind.

"We want to help, we know what it's like when you can't live in your home anymore." Ed cut in making her glance up at him in curiosity. He avoided her questioning gaze. "Are you sure you don't mind having a girl invade your space?" She asked. The two brothers shook their head. She glanced over at Kaede. He nodded.

"I think it will be best Winry. You'll be fine without me right?" He asked placing both hands on her shoulders. She nodded slowly. "This will be the first time I've been away from you since-"She slowly trailed off. He hugged her tightly. "Its fine, these two will take good care of you." He whispered as if he were talking to a toddler.

"I guess I'm your new roommate." She said with a sigh. Al wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, everything will be ok, just focus on the recital for now." He said giving her a tight squeeze before letting her go. They all walked over to the officer and followed him up the stairs into apartment fourteen. Winry diverted her eyes away from the living room, not wanting to see the damage that her personal things had taken. She grabbed Ed's hand without thinking and dragged him to her room.

"Are you ok Winry?" He asked as she pulled out her suitcase. She nodded. "It's just weird you know. I always hate the sight of burnt things, it scares me." She whispered as she pulled a bunch of clothes from her closet. He walked up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her making her hands freeze where they were.

"Ed," She whispered, a blush crept up her neck. His grip tightened slightly. "It's going to be ok Winry, no one got hurt and you have a place to live right now, and your home will be fixed before you know it." He said into her ear. His breath was cold on her neck causing her to shiver and his long bangs were tickling her cheek.

"Thank you Ed." She said with a smile. He stayed behind her while she packed her things until they were ready to go. He checked over her room.

"Are you sure you have everything?" He asked. She also looked back and nodded.

"Positive, come on let's get out of here." She mumbled walking back into the burnt living room. She felt tears in her eyes at the sight but immediately turned away. The four friends exited the apartment and watched as they taped over the door.

"Ok Win, just because we aren't living together right now doesn't mean I want you slacking off ok? Ed and Al, please take care of her for me, she tends to forget a lot of things if I don't tell her." He said patting her head. She glared at him.

"Shut up Kaede!" She slapped his arm and then strangled him in a hug. "You know you're going to see me tomorrow." He said pulling away. She shrugged.

"I don't care, well tell Katie I said hi." He nodded and started to walk off until he paused. He glanced over at Ed and leaned closer to him. "Take good care of her, and make sure she eats, she forgets that a lot." He whispered before pulling back and tossing a smile at his old roommate before walking off. Winry glanced at Ed. "What was that about?" She asked. He just shrugged and gently pushed her down the hall towards their apartment. Al took out his key and pushed open the door.

"Welcome to your new home." He said. Winry set down her stuff and gave out a heavy sigh. "Yep." She said gazing around.

"Why don't you go ahead and put your stuff away while I go make us something. Ed would you mind giving us some musical entertainment?" Al asked. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Is that all I'm good for?" He grumbled walking over to the practice room. Winry smiled and walked down the hall gazing at the doors. She looked behind her to see that Al was reaching up into a cabinet. She looked back at the doors and placed her hand around the knob of the door next to her. She took a deep breath and pushed it open. She gazed inside to see a neat simple room with some papers on the desk and a back pack lying near the bed.

"Al's room." She mumbled closing the door. She heard Ed start to play the piano as she ventured down the hall to the next room. She went through the same process only to find that this was the bathroom door. She reached for the next door and went to open it when a hand landed on her shoulder making her scream bloody murder. The music stopped and footsteps ran quickly to where she was.

"ALPHONSE!" She yelled hitting him upside the head. "What the hell was that for?!" She glared at him, taking a small note that Ed was standing at the end of the hall way gazing at the two in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but that isn't the guest bedroom, that's Ed's. The one across from it is yours." He said pointing to the closed door. She glared at him and opened the door roughly gazing inside. There was a bed and a large dresser with a mirror.

"You could have told me that earlier you know." She said stepping inside and throwing her bag onto the floor.

"Sorry, I will leave you to your un-packing." Al said with a nervous smile and closed the door. She could hear Ed laughing at his younger brother.

"Boy's will be boys." She muttered. She started to pull out clothes and sort them into either the closet or the dresser. Once she was finished, she stepped out of the room and walked back into the kitchen. Al was sitting at the table reading the paper while Ed was nowhere to be seen. She picked up a sliced apple and popped it into her mouth.

"Where's Edward?" She asked sitting across from the younger Elric. He placed the paper down and grabbed a couple of grapes.

"He's on the phone right now with an old friend. See one of your pieces requires a cellist and our friend happens to know how to play." He said breaking the skin of the green grape between his teeth which caused a quiet crunch.

"I see, well do we have anything planned to do?" She asked grabbing another apple. He shook his head.

"Not that I know of, but if you want to, you can go dance. We won't bother you." He said gesturing to the patio room.

"Oh no I don't mind if you two watch, it actually helps me get prepared for performing in front of a crowd." She stated standing up.

"Do you ever get nervous?" He asked looking up at her. She nodded her head. "All the time, but once I get out there and I see Kaede in the audience speaking to me, I automatically relax." She said. "Would you like to come watch me practice?" She asked. He shook his head. "I'd love to, but I have to go to the grocery store again, Ed is a freaking garbage disposal and eats anything in sight, and now that we have you as a guest we need more food." He said grabbing his keys and wallet.

"Oh no don't worry about me Al, I can't ask you to get me food." She said. He chuckled as he placed on his coat.

"Don't be silly Winry, you are a friend that is in a tough situation and we are more than happy to help. You don't need to worry about paying us back for anything ok? We've got plenty of money to go around." He said opening the door.

"Tell Ed where I am when he comes out of his room." He said then closed the door. She smiled softly and walked over to the practice room. She sat down on the ground and started to stretch her legs.

"AL?" She heard Edward call out. "In here Ed!" She yelled back as she slowly lowered into a frontal split.

"Where's Al?" He asked watching her as she stretched. She took a deep breath and pulled back up.

"He went to the grocery store." She stated as she did a couple of flips in the air to warm up. He sat down on the piano bench.

"Would you like me to play for you?" He asked running his fingers along the keys. She shook her head. "No thank you, I'm just going to do some old dance routines right now, and then practice the part in May be." She said pulling out her I-pod.

"You don't have to watch me if you don't want to." She said as she flipped to her playlist and pulled up a song. He shrugged and sat down on the floor against the window gazing up at her.

"Do you happen to have a doc station anywhere?" She asked holding up the music player. He pointed behind her. She smiled and plugged it in and pressed play. The music started and she stood there in a pose. As the beat started up she moved to the other side of the room. She threw her arms above her head and slowly brought them down with the beat then jumped back in a half spin. She dropped to the ground and rolled so her arms were supporting her as she balanced her legs above her body. She twirled back up to her feet and went into an immediate leap and into three pirouettes. She did another leap and reached her hands up and back down and went into a series of pirouettes and stopped and shot her hand up and slowly brought it back down to her side. She leaped once the beat started again and rolled down to the ground and back up. She did a couple of flips and repeated previous moves from the beginning. She then started her series of pirouettes again. She slowed down a bit and then started back up again, bringing in her arms to make her go faster. She stopped and spun out slowly to the side and paused. Her arms were telling the story of the lyrics as her feet were moving it along. She slowly walked across the floor, her feet slightly dragging on the floor as if to be lazy yet flowing like. She pointed her toes straight and kicked out at the last beat. She stood in her pose for awhile, getting lost air from the work out back into her lungs. She relaxed her muscles and stood straight again.

"That was amazing Winry, what was the name of that song?" Ed asked as he clapped lightly. She wiped away sweat that was forming above her eye-brow. "Halo, one of my favorite songs, I was the one that picked it and choreographed it. Kaede was skeptical at first but then fell in love with the song also." She said sitting down next to the attractive blonde. He gave her a side glance.

"Hey Winry," He mumbled quietly. She turned to him. "What was that?" She asked. His cheeks started to turn red causing him to look away from her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you ok Edward?" She asked bring her hand to his shoulder. He jumped away from her in surprise. "Yeah I'm fine!" He said, his voice cracked slightly and his face was only growing redder. Winry touched her arm to his forehead.

"Well you aren't running a fever, you sure you're ok?" She asked leaning in closer to him. He nodded slowly and smiled nervously at her.

"Just feeling a bit jumpy is all." He said standing up and walking over to the piano. Winry's eyes followed him in wonderment until he sat at his piano.  
"Can I play you one of the new songs?" He asked quietly as he searched through his music. She jumped up from her seat and walked over to him. He placed his hands, ready to play but his phone went off making him groan in irritation.

"Hello?" He growled. She heard another man's voice mumbling on the other end. She sighed and started to walk circles around the patio staring at her feet the entire time.  
"What are you doing?" She looked over her shoulder at Ed who had just snapped his phone shut.  
"I'm bored, so I thought I would do something." She stated walking back over to him. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything further.

"Well that was my friend on the phone saying he would be able to play the cello part." He said setting his hands once again.

"Hey you guy's I need help with the groceries." Al yelled. The two blondes groaned in annoyance. "I guess this is destiny telling us that I shouldn't hear the damned song." Winry grumbled walking out of the room. This statement made Edward laugh.

"How was practicing you two?" Al asked as he put some cans up and away. Winry grabbed some fruit and placed them in a bowl that had an apple in it.

"Ed didn't really get to practice." She said looking over at him. He smiled at her before he went to put away some meats into the refrigerator.

"Did things keep interrupting him?" He asked glancing at the blonde girl who was just standing there helplessly not knowing what to do.

"Yeah by the way Roy is going to be able to come, can you believe the bastard asked how hot Winry was." He said with a scowl on his face. This comment made Winry blush heavily.  
"And what did you say to that?" Al asked, suddenly making all the attention on Edward. His eye widened.

"A-ah n-nothing," His words stumbled off of his tongue. Winry walked over to him. "Come on Ed! You can tell us." She said looking up at him with her best puppy dog eyes. His blush only grew darker and looked away as his opened his lips and mumbled.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you." She said leaning in closer. Ed turned to her and stumbled back a bit when he realized how close she was. "Well?" She prodded on.

"I said she's not hot, she beautiful, don't talk about her like she's an object you damn dirty pervert!" He yelled and then covered his mouth. Winry's eyes widened and now she was the one to blush. Ed just stared at her wide eyed, wishing that he could just die on the spot.

"I'll be in my room." He mumbled before stomping out of the kitchen, his door slamming shut behind him. Winry still stood there in shock.

"He called me beautiful." She said sitting in a chair. Al chuckled. "He calls you a lot of other things when you aren't around." He said sitting next to her. She lifted her gaze over to him.

"Like what?" She asked, feeling excitement running through her belly. He shook his head. "I'm sorry but it isn't my place to tell you Winry. That's something Ed will do on his own time." He said. She pouted at him, obviously annoyed.

"Ok I see how it is." She mumbled before standing up. She looked down the hall and then back at Al.

"I'll be right back." She said before venturing down the dark hallway to Edward's bedroom. She knocked quietly and waited for a response. Nothing came to her ears so she slowly opened the door. Ed was sitting at his desk writing vigorously about something.

"Ed?" She called out closing the door behind her. He shot his head up and looked over at the dancer.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked placing his pencil down and turning all the way around to face her. She sauntered over to him trying to peek at what was on his desk which made him jump to cover it up.

"What are you doing?" She asked bending over trying to pry his arms away from the papers. "Winry, stop it." He growled. She glared at him.

"I just want to see what you've been up to." She said trying to pull at his arms again, but he wouldn't budge. She stepped away and smiled when a devious plan popped into her mind.  
"What are you-"Ed started to say but was cut off by Winry's lips. He jumped away from her in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled. She snatched up the papers and looked them over. Her eyes widened.

"Ed, this is amazing!" She exclaimed moving to the next piece of paper. She glanced at him and then back down at the drawing of her. He had drawn her when she was dancing. Her hair was flying around every which way; the dress that she had been wearing was drawn with great detail and shadowing. Her eyes were open, a tinge of sadness upon her face. She frowned.

"Why do I look sad?" She questioned running her finger delicately over her face. He sat down on his bed and shrugged.  
"That's how you always look when you dance. You have sadness in your eyes, but you always look happy with what you're doing." He stated. She gazed down at the next picture and smiled. The two friends were sitting next to each other in the snow leaning against a large tree. Ed was talking while gazing at her with so much emotion in his eyes, while her face was contorted in laughter. He had drawn in small snowflakes in their hair and all over their snow clothing.

"How did you draw something that's never happened?" She asked holding it up. He shrugged. "I just imagine it in my mind; it's almost like drawing a character for a show or something." He said standing up.

"Ok you've seen enough, can I have my drawings back." He asked trying to pry them from her hands but she just pulled away from him.

"No, I want to keep looking." She said placing the next picture on top. She blushed at the drawing. "Ed," She whispered. This picture was quite different from all of the others. It was beautiful, yet depressing and embarrassing too. He had drawn the two kissing in the rain. There was detail down to the water in their hair and the wrinkled clothing. The Ed in the picture had his hand on her far cheek that couldn't be seen while the other was wrapped delicately around her waist. The picture Winry was pressed up against him, seeking for warmth. Her hands were placed on Ed's chest, clutching his shirt. Both of their eyes were closed in content, not caring that they were soaked. She could see the tears that were falling down her face and the light blush on Ed's cheeks. She gazed up at the real Edward and placed the papers down.  
"Why did you draw that?" She asked stepping closer to him. He shrugged. "Because I can." He mumbled pathetically. She smiled.

"Ed, do you happen to like me?" She asked gazing into his golden eyes. They widened in surprise and shook his head.

"No it's not like that Winry." He said stepping away from her. She dropped her shoulders and looked away from him. "I see, I'm sorry I bothered you then." She whispered before leaving his room. She closed her bedroom door behind her quietly and fell to her bed, feeling the tears start to pour down her cheeks.  
"Typical, no one would ever like a piece of trash like me, he was always right." She whispered.

Dinner had been awkward; neither blonde would look at one another. Winry had eventually given up with eating and left leaving a confused Ed and Al behind. She stayed in bed the rest of the night and fell into a restless sleep at midnight. Both the Elric's were sleeping peacefully until a blood curdling scream startled them awake. Both opened their doors and looked at each other.  
"Winry." They said running for her door. Ed opened it and ran to her bed. She had tears falling down her cheeks, her bedding and blankets were askew as she rolled around.

"I'm not worthless!" She whimpered clawing the air. Ed grasped her shoulders trying to shake her awake.

"Winry." He yelled. She tried pulling away and punched him in the stomach and clawed at his face. He pulled away trying to catch his breath.

"Damn, she's pretty strong." He rasped. Al ran over and gazed down at Winry.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done." He said before slapping her face. The room fell silent. She jumped from her bed, the tears still pouring from her eyes. Her breathing was quick and uneasy. She looked at the brothers with wide eyes and started to cry harder.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"She cut herself off and shook her head, covering her face. Al reached for her shoulder but she flinched away.

"Winry what is going on?" She heard Ed ask. He had recovered from her blow and was now sitting next to her on the bed while Al was sitting at her feet.

"I just had a really bad dream, nothing huge." She said wiping away her tears, avoiding looking into their golden eyes.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Al asked. She shook her head. "No it's just a silly dream, nothing to worry about, now go back to sleep." She said. Ed grasped her hand.

"Obviously it wasn't a 'silly dream.' You were screaming as if someone was killing you. And you were also acting as if we were going to hurt you or something. So I'll ask again what is going on?" He asked in a stern voice. She now had more tears falling.  
"I can't tell you. I'm too scared to." She whispered pulling away from Ed's grasp, but his hand only tightened. "Winry, you don't have to be, we are right here to protect you, nothing will happen." Ed said, pulling her closer to him. She slowly lifted her gaze and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. He frowned. "Why do you keep apologizing, you didn't do anything." He said wrapping his arms around her. She shivered.

"Because I can't tell you the truth." She mumbled into his shoulder. "You can tell us Winry, you can't keep this locked inside. We can take it one step at a time." Al said. She pulled away from Ed's grasp and nodded.  
"Before we start," She mumbled, her voice still shaking. "I want you two to know that this is very serious and I know you won't take to it lightly, so I wish for you not to tell a living soul about this ok?" She said trying desperately to find confidence in her voice. The brother's nodded slowly.

"Well I guess I should start to when I started high school." She mumbled.

"_Granny, I'm scared." The fourteen year old Winry said gazing out the car door window at the bustling school. "Oh Winry, it will be fine, your father was just as scared as you were, but he got through it and look what happened, he met Sarah." She said. Winry slowly nodded and opened the door, the loud shouts of the students meeting her ears._

"_You'll be fine deary, you are a Rockbell after all." She said with a smile. The teen smiled back and closed the door. This was it; she was a freshman in high school now. Many of the students stared at her as she passed to make her way into the courtyard._

_The young blonde stared in wonder at the large school. But because of her lack of attention she accidently ran into a guy causing her to fall on her butt and all of her things to go flying. _

"_Oh I am so sorry." She said scrabbling to her feet. The guy just laughed._

"_It's fine, don't worry about it. Are you a newbie here?" He asked picking up some of her things and handing them to her. She nodded. "I'm a freshman." She mumbled re-adjusting her back-pack._

"_Well, welcome! My name is Kyle and I'm a sophomore. If you need anything I'll be glad to help you, I know what it's like being the fresh meat." He said. She laughed and nodded._

"_Thank you Kyle, my name is Winry by the way." She said holding out her hand. And with that, the two had become instant friends. And over the course of the year he had eventually asked the blonde out and she gladly accepted._

_ "Granny you said that Mom and Dad had met each other when they were my age?" She asked as she danced around the kitchen setting up the table for their guest, Kyle._

_ "I did, why? Do you think he is special?" She asked placing some food onto the table. Winry blushed and nodded. "Definitely." She mumbled. _

"After that we got closer than ever, and did everything together. But once my second year rolled around, he started to change for the worse." She whispered looking down at her hands

_"Hey sweetie, why didn't you return my calls?" Winry asked pecking Kyle's cheek. He barely turned his head to acknowledge her.  
"I was busy." He grumbled. She frowned and sat down in the car. He drove away from her house and sped to school. _

_ "Did something happen last night?" She asked. He suddenly turned the car into a parking lot and turned to her._

_ "Why don't you just shut up and stop prying you stupid bitch!" He yelled. Her eyes widened at his harsh words. "Kyle what is-"Shut up Winry!" He slapped her cheek causing tears to form in her eyes. He turned away from her and gazed out his window._

_ "We're going to be late for school." She whispered. He snapped his head in her direction and un-buckled himself. "Want to say that again?! I'm nice enough to give you rides in the morning and this is how you pay me you whore!" He opened his door and stormed over to her side of the car. She stared at him horrified with his behavior. _

_ "Kyle, you don't know what you're saying. You're parents must have had a fight again?" She asked. She wasn't expecting a fist to connect with her face. He tore her from her seat and threw her against the car and kneed her in the stomach. _

_ "That is none of your damned business." He yelled. She fell to her knees and looked around wondering why no one was saving her. Of course he would pick an abandoned lot in the middle of nowhere. They passed it every morning on their way to school._

_ "You are an ass hole; I can't believe I trusted you." She hissed at him as she got back onto her feet. He kicked her in the ribs and slammed her head against the car door._

_ "Say that again bitch, I dare you." He growled grasping her neck. She shook her head, trying to gasp for air. He let go of her and stepped away._

_ "I can't kill you yet, I haven't gotten what I wanted. You better not tell a single person about this you got it. If you do then I will kill you with my bare hands and make it look like an accident." He said getting back in the car. She slowly stood up and started to puke, tears were running down her cheeks at the excruciating pain in her stomach. She wiped her mouth and got in the car._

_ "Now I'm going to take you home and you will tell your stupid grandmother that I found you like this when I came to pick you up, someone had stolen all of your money and beat you." He said speeding off back to her house. She nodded, her eyes closing and she lost consciousness. _

The room was eerily silent after she finished telling them her story.

"After that day, he secretly beat me whenever we were alone. He even dared to do it while we were at school. I never told because I was scared of his threat, so we stayed together until I was a senior. That's the year that he," She paused and felt her throat tighten up. Neither brother was willing to talk because they were stunned at her story. "That's the year he raped me." She whispered. Both of their eyes widened even further and Ed tightened hi grip on the blankets beneath him.

"He did that the night of our so called anniversary. Afterwards he just left me there to bleed and cry in the cold. I felt so broken and worthless, that I had tried to kill myself multiple times, but I could never bring myself to actually pull through with it. Then I found out that I was pregnant. It was the worst day of my life, because I didn't know what to do. I had always thought that everything needed a chance to live no matter what. I knew that's what my parents thought too; otherwise they wouldn't have been doctors who saved multiple lives, even the ones that didn't really deserve it. Somehow, granny found out and confronted me about it. That was the day she died. I had told her everything, from the beginning to end, and she was furious. She wanted to call the police but I begged her not to. She listened, but when Kyle came over that same day, she snapped and started to scream at him for what he did." She stopped as she started to cry un-controllably. Ed pulled her into his arms and smoothed her hair down with his hand.

"He brought a knife out on her and stabbed her multiple times. I tried to defend her, but he just threw me against the wall and left. I called 911, but they couldn't save her in time. I saw her get killed right before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it." She whispered clutching onto Ed's shirt tight.

"I met Kaede later on because I knew I always wanted to be a dancer, so I met him at one of the recitals at the high school and we hit it off. He started to teach me, but he noticed that I was always weak and I kept getting larger every month. Finally he sat me down and talked to me. I told him that I was pregnant. At first he looked at me in disgust, but I eventually explained to him what had happened. He was immediately enraged and not to long after that I moved in with him. Kyle wasn't very happy about that so he came to visit us and Kaede kicked his ass." She said with a small smile.

"It made me feel better that I had someone to protect me. But not soon after that he knifed me while I was home alone. I almost died of blood-loss, but Kaede came in time to save me. I lost the baby though. I remember being extremely relieved that I didn't have to take care of the bastard's child, but at the same time I felt empty, worthless. I didn't know what to do with my life. I wallowed in my guilt thinking that I had killed an innocent child, I almost didn't even go to graduation, but Kaede pushed me to do it. I remember the looks on my teacher's faces as I walked up the stairs to receive me diploma. They look so lost and guilty for not noticing everything before. The entire stadium was silent too; I was too embarrassed to stay up there any longer, so I ran. And I didn't stop until I had reached my apartment, which was a good thirty minutes away. I stayed in my room most of the time, refusing to come out. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, and I nearly killed myself from going hungry." She said. "I was so thin you could wrap your hands around my waist and connect your fingers. You could see me rips, my face was indented too. I looked like a zombie. Kaede eventually took me to a hospital when I collapsed from standing for too long. I had broken both of my arms with the fall and they couldn't do surgery on me because I was so delicate I would pass away as soon as they tried to do anything. So I stayed in the hospital for three months, I barely walked, and they had to put nutrients in my I.V because if I ate real food, my stomach would have burst. It was a gradual thing, but I eventually got better, but not mentally. That's when I went into therapy to talk about my situation. Little by little I got better. Eventually I was dancing again and had a clean healthy bill of happiness. Kaede was like a father to me because he always took care of me when I had nightmares at night, or sometimes when I would forget to eat." She finished still tucked into Ed's arms. The room was deadly silent. She peeked up at Ed's face, scared to see his reaction. His face was blank, though his eyes told the whole story, he was furious.

"What happened to the bastard?" He said between gritted teeth. She sat up and gazed into his eyes.

"The hospital told me he was drunk and got killed in a car accident." She said. Alphonse was the one that was quiet the entire time. She looked over at the younger brother and examined his expression. He was biting on his thumb nail, his eyes in a trance staring at the blanket. Ed fell forward and placed his head on her shoulder while his arms wrapped around her waist hugging her tightly.

"Oh Winry, god." He whispered. She felt him shaking in her arms. "Ed?" She called. He responded by just tightening his grip on her. "I can't imagine what kind of hell you've been through Winry, I really can't, but know that we are here for you, and if anyone, I mean anyone tries to EVER do that to you again, I will hunt them down and make sure they don't hurt you." He whispered in a deadly tone. She felt herself shiver at the power in his voice, even though he wasn't yelling.

"Thank you Edward, that really means a lot." She whispered hugging him tighter. Al finally broke from his stupor and crawled up next to her. He wrapped his arms around her also. She honestly hadn't felt this safe in a long time. The two brothers held the dancer as she cried all night until she fell asleep in Ed's arms.

"What should we do Ed? I honestly don't want to leave her alone after she told us that." He whispered gazing down at the girl. Her breathing was evened out and she had a small smile playing on her lips as she nestled her head into Ed's chest. He blushed and looked over at his brother.

"I will stay here since she probably won't be letting go for awhile. If she wakes up screaming again don't worry, I'll take care of it." He said kissing her forehead. Al smiled and stood up.

"You know brother; you should tell her how you feel before someone else snatches her away." Al said before leaving the room. Ed's face turned tomato red at his comment.

"Ed." Winry mumbled in her sleep, her grip tightening on him. He pulled the covers over them and sighed.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right." He grumbled before switching off the light and falling asleep.

**Wooooow, talk about super angsty! Sorry if I depressed a lot of you, trust me I almost started crying just imagining Winry being like. But then I ended it with some fluffiness and it was an uber long chapter so hopefully that makes up for the angst. For some reason it is a lot of fun writing it. ANYWAYS, Halo doesn't belong to me btw, it's written by Beyonce, it's a pretty song, look it up ;) Well hope you enjoyed! Please review! And don't forget the dark side always has cookies :D**


	4. A kindling Fire

**Wow I got so many positive reviews! And a lot of followers and favorites! Thank you guy's you have no idea how happy it makes me to see your guy's opinions about my story so please don't be shy and keep writing them :D So I had a field day with this chapter. I kept debating on whether I should make it one loooong chapter, or be evil and split it into two. But I finally decided to keep it as one. Sadly this will be the second to last chapter. The next chapter is an Epilogue. Ok here are the answers to the amazing reviews I got!**

**Loving Alchemist: I'm glad that you were so touched by my story! Thank you so much for the review I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one!**

**Jaclynkaileigh: Yeah I feel bad for being mean to Winry, but it had to be done! And yes I whole heartedly agree, men are idiots. I hope you enjoy this chapter thank you for the review.**

**Starjade101: Ok so when I got your review it literally made my day I couldn't stop smiling. I'm really glad you are enjoying my story so much, and thank you for all the compliments! I actually do want to write books, I'm writing a couple right now. I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you soooo much for the great review! :D**

**DarkForestWolf: Of course I will continue how could I ever disappoint my awesome readers!? I've been working on this chapter every night because you requested it to be out very quickly so here it is :D I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the review and lovely conversation :D**

**Neusuada: Thank you! I'm glad you liked both chapters, thank you for the reviews and hope you like this chapter as well**

**Athenafrodite: Yes they are very cute! Can't live life without the drama unfortunately! I'm glad you enjoyed it though thank you for the review and enjoy this chapter! **

**TheAnonymousPie: I love writing angst as weird as it sounds. Its soo much fun! And I wish Ed could beat him to a pulp too. Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own FMA, but I do own Katie Kaede and Kyle (Wow, I just realized that they all start with K, wtf mate?) Yes, unfortunately Kyle, the bastard! I also don't own any songs!**

**Chapter 4: A kindling fire**

Winry woke with a start, her head felt heavy as lead and her eyes were raw from crying. She then almost jumped out of the bed when she realized she had a occupant with her. It was Ed. She blushed realizing that the weight on her waist were his arms holding her tightly. But why was he in here? Did something happen last night? She peeked over his shoulder at the clock to see that it was seven in the morning. She mentally groaned and fell back down onto her pillow, this unfortunately woke up Ed. He jumped up from where he was and whipped his head around looking at the room.

"What happened? Are you ok Winry?" He asked looking down at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" She asked sitting up also. He frowned.

"Now would you mind telling me why you're in my bed?" She asked sternly. It wasn't that she minded being this close to him, it just worried her that she couldn't remember what happened last night.

"Winry, do you not remember at all?" He asked. She slowly shook her head. "You woke up in the middle of the night screaming and we had a long conversation about that bastard." He said through clenched teeth. Her eyes widened in surprise. She told them that? But why couldn't it come back into her mind?

"Why can't I remember that?" She asked, her voice going and octave higher in panic. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Calm down Winry, I'm sure that it's just because of the shock from the dreams and you crying so much." He said. She felt more tears fall from her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry, it'll be ok. You'll feel great after a nice shower and some breakfast, how about that?" He asked wiping her cheeks with his thumb. "That sounds nice." She whispered. He stood up and stretched out his sore muscles from sleeping in an awkward position all night.

"Ok, you go take a shower, and I will start on that breakfast, does eggs and pancakes sound good?" He asked. She nodded and stood up also. He was about to walk out the door before she stopped him.

"Thank you Ed, so much." She said with a small smile. He looked surprised at first, but his expression slowly melted into a soft smile. "Of course Winry." He whispered before walking away. She walked over to her dresser and gazed into the mirror.

"Oh god, I look like a zombie!" She said examining her face. Her hair was thankfully matted down instead of sticking up every which way, but her eyes were swollen and red and had dark purple circles under them from lack of sleep. Her cheeks still had tear trails and her skin was as pale as a ghost.

"I can't believe he saw me like this." She grumbled grabbing a fresh set of clothes and a towel. She poked her head out of the door and gazed down the hallway at Ed. He was currently mixed the pancake mix while reading a recipe. She smiled and felt a bunch of butterflies find their way into her stomach at the sight. She stealthily made her way to the bathroom so Ed wouldn't see or hear her. She flipped on the switch and turned on the water to the shower. She slowly took off her clothes and examined the scars she had from over the years. She just sighed and stepped into the steaming water. She moaned in content and instantly felt relaxed as the water drilled into her sore muscles. It felt like an eternity before she finally turned off the water and stepped out. She wrapped the towel around her body.

"Hey Winry, breakfast is ready so don't take much longer." Ed called out with a light knock on the door. "Ok." She said faintly. With food on the mind, she quickly dressed herself and opened the door to let the steam leak out. She was still toweling her hair when she sat down at the table with a plate of everything imaginable on it in front of her

"Ed you didn't have to-"Well I wanted to, so just eat and enjoy ok?" He said with a smile and sat down next to her. It wasn't long before Al slowly drifted into the kitchen, his hair sticking every which way.

"I smelt bacon." He grumbled picking up a piece and sitting across from Ed. "I called Kaede to tell him what happened, he's on his way over and says that you're skipping school today." Ed said after shoveling some eggs into his mouth like a hungry beast.

"Al, you were right when you said he's a garbage disposal." Winry whispered to the younger brother which made him laugh. Ed eyed the two.

"Are you talking about me?" He asked glaring at them. They both shook their heads and went back to eating. The table was quiet as they munched on their breakfast, until there was a knock. Winry jumped up from her seat and opened the door. Kaede nearly strangled her in a hug. "Are you ok?" He whispered rubbing circles on her back. She nodded and buried her nose deeper into his neck.

"It's ok he's not coming back." He said closing the door with his foot and he tried to walk back to the kitchen with her still in his arms.

"Hey Ed, Al." He said. They both waved. "It's today Kaede, that's why I had the nightmare." She whispered making all three men's attention to go on her.

"That's right, it figures the first time you've been away from home, and this is the time you have a nightmare." He said sitting her back down in the chair.

"Eat Winry." He said pointing at her plate that was barely touched. She pouted and grabbed her fork with some eggs on it and slowly chewed before swallowing.

"Winry, you know you need to eat, I don't care if you aren't hungry, and I will personally shove it down your throat if I have to." He threatened making her eat quicker than before. The Elric's watched in amazement as she finished her breakfast in two minutes. Kaede patted her head.

"Good girl." He said before sitting in the last vacant chair that was across from Winry.

"Would you like some breakfast Kaede?" Ed asked, standing up with his empty plate and walking over to the sink. "Oh no thank you, I already ate." He said. Ed finished washing and sat back down.  
"So you guys know everything now?" Kaede asked while staring into Winry's eyes. "I had to tell them, I woke up screaming Kaede, I wasn't going to lie." She said also standing to rinse her plate but Al took it and did it himself.

"I know, I'm just worried about you Winry." He said. She sighed and shook her head. "Kaede it happened four years ago, I'm better now. I still eat, I'm not wallowing anymore and I'm dancing remember?" She said with a proud smile.

"But you haven't been in a relationship since." He said with a stern gaze. She glared right back. "I don't care; you've been pestering me about this for too long. I can take care of myself Kaede." She said crossing her arms. The two brothers were looking at the friends as they both talked.

"Yeah but the therapist even said it will help if you get into a relationship." He countered back, crossing his arms as well. "Yeah well I don't think that. You have no idea what it's like, fearing men because of what happened. I feel silly all the time thinking that, 'oh is he going to hit me?' When I know that it isn't true, just face it, I'm not going to find a guy that is kind enough to understand what happened to me, instead of thinking I'm a whore." She yelled at him, tears forming in her eyes. All three men stared at her in shock. Ed stood up suddenly, determination on his face, and grasped her hands in his making her attention fall on him.

"That's not true," He said pulling her closer. She felt her face grow warm. "I care about you Winry, a lot." He said. Her eyes widened at his statement.  
"But you said," She started but he shook his head. The entire room was quiet, Winry glanced over at the other two, both of them leaning towards them in anticipation. Ed grasped her chin in his hand and gently pulled her face to look at him.

"Don't mind them, they aren't here right now ok?" He said quietly. The two males got the drift and walked out of the room talking about miscellaneous things that didn't make sense.

"Ed," She started but he stopped her again. "I know what I said was not nice, and it confused you, but I thought it to be best, but I guess it really wasn't." He sighed. Winry was shaking at this point, a million things were blowing through her mind by the second.

"I really like you Winry, a lot. I haven't ever felt this way before and it's made me think hours upon hours about what the hell was wrong with me, and I finally figured out that I was falling in love with you." He said, his face slowly inching closer. Winry shook her head and tried pulling away.

"No Ed." She whispered helplessly. This made him pull back immediately in hurt and shock. "Winry," He said. She could see the hurtful pain in his eyes; it almost made her want to cry.

"I can't do this Ed, I'm sorry, I really care about you too, and I think I love you too, but I just can't!" She said feeling the tears coming. His face suddenly went from sadness to anger.

"Damn it Winry, would you stop playing with me? At first I had no idea that you liked me, but then I started to see it, and now you're telling me you actually do, but you can't?!" He yelled, but in a way he wasn't very forceful about it.

"Me playing with you?! You're the one that started acting really weird around me, and the signs were there, but then you come out and say that you don't like me at all, and now here you are saying you're in love with me?! Damn it Ed that's what playing with the emotions is. I don't want to do this if this is how it's going to be!" She yelled right back, more tears falling, but she barely noticed. They were both glaring at each other now, gold meshing with blue.

"I'm leaving." He muttered grabbing his keys and coat before slamming the door behind him. She could hear him cursing at someone and then stomping away. The door opened again to show a very confused man with nice black hair and coal black eyes.

"Did I miss something?" He asked gazing over at the crying girl. Both Kaede and Al came running into the kitchen.

"Winry, it's going to be ok. Al you go fetch Ed before he does something stupid." Kaede said helping the dancer into a chair. Winry just sat there staring at her hands while Kaede stared at her. The man slowly walked in and made his way to the patio room.

"Winry, why did you say that to Ed?" He asked gently grasping her hand in his. She shrugged, refusing to look in his eyes. "I'm not ready Kaede, I don't think I can go through with it, especially if he's going to play with my emotions every day." She whispered, wiping her eyes.

"Anyways, I have a recital to work on, and I'm not going to disappoint you." She said standing up. "I'm going to go wash my face and get ready, if Ed isn't back in that room by the time I'm done, I will hunt him down myself." She grumbled walking away. As if on cue, the two Elric brothers walked through the door, one looking defeated and the other pissed.

"Now Ed, go to the practice room, I don't care how much you don't want to see Winry right now, but you will suck it up and deal!" Al hissed. The older brother nodded sullenly and slugged off into the room. Roy greeted him happily, but he got a grunt for response. Al sighed and sat down in the chair next to Kaede.

"I can't believe they had a fight." He mumbled hitting his head on the table. "Well, I hate to break it to you Al, but that's pretty much how love works. But right now Winry is in denial about being in love because she is scared to get hurt again even though she knows how nice of a person Edward is. So she is coming up with lame excuses to escape her feelings. She will figure it out on her own soon, just give her some time." He said standing up.

"Well I have to go supervise some dancing let's go." He said grabbing the younger brother's arm and hauling him over to the room. Roy was tuning his cello, positioned right in front of the piano.

"Ed, while we are waiting for Winry, why don't you play May be, I would like to hear it" Kaede said. The blonde nodded and shuffled through his music before pulling it out. His fingers started to move quickly with the beat and he came to a pause. There was a second's hesitation on the left hand as he started out with the treble clef. He kept diving from forte to piano and he finally started a crescendo as he moved further down the keyboard to play the main section. He lifted his fingers ever so slightly so it quieted down and it fell slow as he climbed back up to the higher keys, moving up to a fortissimo. The tempo sped up slightly until he went straight back down slowly into the bridge of the song. He repeated the first part but delicately. His breathing calmed as the song got slower and quieter. His shoulders lifted each time he took a quick breath at rests. He suddenly plunged back into the main section; it gradually slowed down until he drawled out the last few notes. Everyone in the room clapped loudly.

"Wow, I will never get over your freaking amazing ability." Kaede said walking over to the older brother. He just smiled sadly and nodded.

"Thanks." He muttered pulling out River Flows in you. With a quick glance over at the music, he started. The notes slowly melted into the music quietly with frequent pauses. After taking a deep breath, he sped up slightly. Each note was defined and flowing into the next passage. Soon he reached the main section, his body swaying slightly with the gentle rhythm. His fingers ever so slightly sped up as he increased volume but then immediately shot back down to piano with a retardant. The bridge started up again and soon it flowed back to the main passage. He kept his eyes closed, not daring to look over at the people watching him, especially the blue eyed beauty that had just walked in. He soon finished, lowering his hands down to his lap.

"Great! Let's get to the dancing. We are going to have to drop two songs, sadly, it's Do you, and If I could see you again. I listened over them and couldn't think of anything very good. So let's go over Time forgets since we have this nice gentleman here to play for us." Kaede said gesturing to Roy. Winry stood up from where she had been sitting.

"Ok Winry, have you heard this song yet?" He asked. She shook her head as she finished stretching her arms.

"Well would you two like to demonstrate?" He asked taking a quick glance at Winry before looking back at Ed. The two refused to look at each other, both seething in anger, and both dripping in despair. Ed pulled out the song and gazed over it, looking at some measures before looking at Roy sternly.

"Follow me ok? And if you get lost, I'm not stopping." He grumbled before starting out the first two measures on the higher section of the board. He brought it down to a pianissimo and dragged his fingers down to the middle section of the board. His left hand was moving smoothly and his right hand paused every so often. He gave a couple of notes accents until he started to play doubles, almost hesitating on some notes. The room was silent as he paused and then continued on with the same rhythm. Roy was watching Ed's every movement, waiting for that moment to drop in with him. He set his bow at the tip and connected his fingers to the long neck. Roy pushed gently on the hairs as his arm moved to and fro, playing similar notes with Edward. Each note he had was with perfect vibrato and accents. Edward was in a Forte while Roy was in a quiet piano, barely playing over the grand piano next to him. They both increased volume slightly as they climbed higher, Roy's hand shifting perfectly, his fingers moving quickly along with Edward's notes. The two played together so perfectly, their breathing was in sync and their bodies were swaying with the music. Roy dropped out after climbing down to a pianissimo. Ed continued forth without him, quietly playing his notes. Roy then joined back in playing whole notes. The piano got louder at the very end as he played the last few measures. Roy held his last note until Ed lifted his fingers from the keys. During the entire duration of the song, Winry had been gazing at Edward, her eyes never leaving his figure. So once the song was over, he quickly gazed at her, their eyes connected for a split second before they scowled and flipped their heads either way.

"Well Winry what do you think of the song?" Kaede asked slowly. She shrugged. "It's ok, I mean the piano player could have played better, it was pretty sloppy." She said. Ed slammed his hands on the top of the keys making a nasty sound echo across the room causing shivers to run up everyone's spine.

"Shut up! You have no right to say that!" He yelled. Everyone stared at him in shock, even Winry. His eyes were quivering as if tears were going to fall. "Don't you dare say something like that EVER again!" He yelled loudly pointing a finger at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise as he glared at her, his eyes glowing with fury and hurt. He slammed the piano shut and walked out of the room with his music under his arm.

"I'm done; you can find a new pianist." He growled before disappearing into his room. All eyes then landed on Winry.

"I-I didn't really-"She started to say but just stopped. Al sighed. "Winry that was a little uncalled for." He said quietly.

"You see Ed's really testy about his playing. When our dad left our mother was sad a lot and Ed playing the piano always made her smile. She always encouraged him to keep playing and to never give up. So he pushed himself to become an amazing player, which he did. He can take criticism, but you have to be gentle about it. He takes it hard when you're mean because it makes him think that he sucks and it would make mom really un-happy, even though in reality he is amazing and mom would never be un-happy with him." He said running his hand over the top of the piano.

"I had no idea," She mumbled, her eyes going downcast. Al sighed and shook his head. "Its fine Winry, he'll get over it, hopefully. For the time being why don't you guys practice while I go talk to him?" He said exiting the room before they could answer. Kaede stepped in front of the blonde dancer and looked at her sternly.

"Winry, as much as I love you, I can't have you distracted right now, this is a huge recital. I was going to wait and tell you, but someone from New York is going to be there to witness you. He might get you a job." Kaede said. Winry's eyes widened.

"Way to make me even more scared! Why didn't you tell this to me before?! Now I need to work even harder!" She yelled. He shrugged and switched on the music.

"Let's get started, we have a lot of time to make up for." He said.

Al knocked on Ed's door gently before he turned the knob and slowly opened it. He peered inside and saw his older brother lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. "Ed," He called out. Silence was the only thing to greet him.

"Ed, she didn't know-"Its fine Al, I'm not that mad about it. I'm angry because of everything that happened between us." He muttered. Al sighed in relief and closed the door behind him. He silently sat next to his brother and examined his room while they both sat in silence.

"I love her Al," He finally whispered. The younger blonde just stayed quiet, waiting for the older to continue his sentence. "I don't know what happened, but I fell for her. She's beautiful inside and out, and she's so talented, and I went and blew it by telling her my feelings." He grumbled sitting up and running a hand through his long bangs.

"I wouldn't say you ruined it, I think you actually did the right thing. The only problem is Winry is scared to be committed to someone again for fear of being hurt. I mean can you blame her? I know you are mad at her, but you need to understand her situation." He said. "Why do you think that I didn't ruin it?" Ed mumbled.

"Because you telling her your feelings made her see that she really is loved. All she needs is to see that you won't hurt her, that you will protect her with your life. Isn't that true?" Al asked finally turning to look at the pianist. He nodded.

"But I don't know if I'm ready to face her. She's probably still pissed at me." He said sullenly. Al smiled softly.

"Ed what you need to do is make her come back to you. If you go to her, nothing will be solved. She needs to realize everything on her own. So just pretend you're mad at her still." He said. Ed raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure that's ok to do?" He asked. Al nodded. "As long as you aren't too harsh about it and it will get through her thick skull that you love her, then yes, yes it is." He said with an evil smile. Ed chuckled.

"Wow Al, I don't think I've ever seen this side of you." He said standing up from his bed. "I have my moments." Al said doing the same.

"Well, let the plan begin." Ed said opening his door.

Winry paid the clerk and walked out of the small café into the freezing snow. Two weeks had passed since the two hotheaded blondes had their fight, and they had yet to have a civil conversation. Whenever they practiced, both would criticize each other until one stormed out of the room, and she was just about ready to burst, she hated fighting with him, but he was clearly still very mad with her. Winry took a sip of her coffee and glanced on either side of her before crossing the ice slicked street.

"Hey Winry! I heard your huge recital is tonight?" A guy asked. She turned to look at him and smiled. "Yeah it is, you should come Phil! It's going to be great." She said. He nodded and walked away. A shiver ran down her spine. The recital was tonight, and her pianist was totally pissed at her. She honestly wanted to make up with him, every day she just wants to jump into his arms and kiss him to death. Her cheeks flushed at the thought. She pulled out her keys and opened the front door only to be met with Al.

"Have you seen Ed? I can't find him and he won't answer his phone." He asked in a panicked tone. She frowned.

"Last I saw him he said he was going down to Fort Madison for something. He said he would be back before tonight." She said. Al sighed in frustration.

"But why the hell is he going down there?! That's where our father lives and he never goes there willingly. Damn it he has no brains sometimes." He grumbled running past the confused blonde.

"I'll call you later, Katie is over she said she wants to give you a nice spa day or something." He said before turning the corner. She just shrugged and walked into the warm apartment complex and to her apartment. She set her things on the table in the kitchen and looked around the empty space.

"Katie?" She called out grasping her coffee in one hand and her coat in the other. The brunette popped her head out from the bathroom door.

"In here, I prepared a warm bath for you. Today you will relax and not be stressed until tonight. I'm going to give you a massage and give you a manicure. Sound good?" She asked with a sweet smile. Winry smiled nervously, she was never one for girly things and she sure as hell wasn't going to change that, but everything really sounded nice at the moment. So with that thought in mind she shredded her clothing and stepped into the warm bubbly tub.

"Is it warm enough?" Katie asked grabbing one of her hands and massaging it gently. The dancer nodded and sank further into the bubbles.

"Thanks a lot for this Katie, you have no idea how stressed I've been lately, especially with Ed on my ass all the time." She grumbled watching as her friend carefully painted her nails a dark red.

"What is going on with that? Kaede told me some of the details, but I'm guessing only you can give me the real story." She stated sticking her tongue out with utter concentration.

"I'm not sure really," Winry said sadly. "I think he hates my guts. I was really mean to him and I guess I don't really blame him. I'm just scared that he'll never forgive me." She mumbled gazing at her reflection in the bubble

"That's not true Winry, he doesn't hate you. Last time I checked guy's who say they love you don't just up and hate you for no reason. There's a real reason behind his anger, and I think he's doing it on purpose to make you feel bad because he doesn't want to go to you; he wants you to find your way to him. He understands that you are scared, we all do Winry. But life is about taking chances and living. Never having a boyfriend is like living under a rock; you've got to take that chance." She said closing the bottle of paint and shaking it up.

"I guess that makes sense, but why would he go to those lengths for me?" She asked examining her shining red nails.

"He loves you, and sometimes that's what guy's do to get the girl they want." Kay said before standing up and grabbing some shampoo and scrubbing her hair.

"You are pretty good at this Kay, why is that?" She asked, feeling her muscles go lax. "Well I originally was going to school to be a massage therapist, but then I found a new passion for fashion, so here I am now." She said grabbing a cup and rinsing her hair.

"Are you feeling better yet?" She asked gently kneading Winry's tight shoulders. "Much, what else is on the schedule for today?" She asked lulling her head from side to side.

"Well against Kaede's word, we are going to have some ice cream and watch some good movies. Then around five we will stuff your little tummy with a nice healthy dinner and we will start getting ready for the big night. Sound like fun?" She asked holding up a towel for her. She jumped out of the water and wrapped herself into the warm fuzzy cloth.

"God just talking about it gives me butterflies." She said with a shiver all over her body. Katie just laughed and guided her to her bedroom.

"You'll be fine, now put on some pajamas and put this robe on. I'll be out in the living room waiting with chocolate ice cream." With that she closed the door. Winry started to dress and brushed her hair.

"I have to go to him huh?" She mumbled staring at herself in the mirror. "Katie! I'm going to need your help with something!" She yelled.

Ed slammed his car door shut and stomped up the stairs to the front door. Without thinking he barged through the door and gave it a gentle toss to close it.

"Ah Edward, it's great to see you son, what are you doing here today? I thought you had a recital?" An older man that looked almost exactly like Ed said.

"I do. What I want to know is why the hell did I get a letter in the mail about some stupid proposal?!" He yelled throwing the envelope at the man.

"Well Alphonse has been telling me about this lovely young lady, and I want you to marry her. I would have called you, but you would have just hung up. Ed you are in your twenties, you should be looking for a wife." He said.

"Oh I'm gonna kill him." He muttered. "Edward, is it true you care about this girl?" The older man asked making the young one snap his head up and glare at him.

"Maybe it is. What is this? The 1900's? I can do whatever the fuck I want without your consent!" He yelled. "Edward, watch your language." Hohenheim said sternly. Ed smirked and crossed his arms.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" He said tauntingly. The man just glared at him. "Why must you be such a child Edward?" He sighed dropping the letter onto the table.

"Why must you be such an annoying shitty dad? Look, I really like Winry, but right now we are in a tough spot and I really don't want to ruin it even more with your stupid marriage idea ok? Can I at least date the girl before I even think about settling down?" He said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Fine, I think that works. I just want to meet her. Would it be ok it I come see the recital?" He asked. Ed sighed and nodded.

"Sure, I guess so. Just don't do anything stupid ok? Look I have to go; otherwise I won't be able to make it back in time for the recital. Everyone is probably wondering where I am anyways." With that he exited the house without looking back and got into his car.

"Damn old man." He grumbled before driving off in a hurry.  
_

Winry gazed into the mirror as she traced under her eye with eyeliner. She brushed some red eyes-shadow on and curled her eye-lashes with mascara. Katie walked up from behind her with a curler in her hand.

"Are you done yet?" She asked grabbing a chunk of hair and wrapping it around the hot iron. "Yes I am will you help me with the design on my cheek?" She asked holding up the stencil she had bought.

"Get Kaede to do it, I'm busy curling your hair." She said. There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Hey, Alphonse can't find Edward." Kaede said opening the door quickly. The two girls turned their heads towards him. Winry jumped up from her seat.

"WHAT?! But he's my pianist what am I going to do?! The recital starts in an hour!" She yelled frantically, pulling Katie along with her because her hair was still in the iron.

"Winry hold still!" She growled grasping one of her shoulders. "Ok don't worry, we are going to try and call him-"Kaede I've got him on the phone." Al said running up to the trio and holding up the phone.

"Edward where the hell are you?!" Winry yelled. "I'm stuck in traffic right now; I'm trying to get there as fast as I can without getting a ticket. I'll be there when I get there ok?" The line ended.

"That idiot!" Winry yelled sitting back down in her chair. Katie finished tying her hair up into a pony tail and pinned a red dragon fly in her hair.

"What's that for?" She asked admiring it through the mirror. "I saw it and thought of you." Katie said with a shrug. Winry stood up and went to her room where her costume awaited her. She held it up in the light so that it sparkled.

"It's time." She whispered. She pulled off the robe that she had been wearing and carefully pulled the dress on over her made up hair and face. Kaede burst through the door.

"Hurry! We need to leave in fifteen, do you have everything?" He asked throwing the tights at her face. "Yes I do, now get the car warmed up; I don't want to be an icicle on stage now do I?" She said pulling the tights up her long legs. He nodded and ran out of the room. She threw on some of her old vans and grabbed her long coat and placed it over her shoulders.

The group of friends ran into the auditorium to escape the freezing snow that had just begun to fall. Many guests were already filing through the front doors and getting good seats. Winry was literally jumping up and down trying desperately to warm up her body.

"Kaede why is it so cold in here?" She asked shaking out her legs. He shrugged. "I think some of the heaters might be broken." He answered. Winry plopped down onto the ground and started to lace up her ballet shoes.

"Any news from Ed?" She asked tying up the last of the lace. He shook his head helping her up from her sitting position.

"We can only pray. I have to go on stage and introduce you. Good luck hun, don't literally break a leg ok?" He said giving her a quick hug before walking onto the stage.

"Thank you for joining us tonight ladies and gentlemen. As you all know, we have a lovely lady dancing for you tonight with the pieces of Yiruma: River Flows in You, May be, Time Forgets, When the love falls, Dream, and our main theme Kiss the Rain. Please no flash photography and hold your cheering until the very end of a routine thank you." The curtains slowly closed. Winry walked out onto the stage.

"Where is he?" She whispered quietly to herself before taking her pose on the ground. The curtains slowly moved back to their original position showing the beautiful dancer lying on the stage. She kept her eyes closed, praying for a miracle. The quiet room was then filled with the delicate beginning of Kiss the Rain. She found herself moving with the music, everything in her mind suddenly disappeared as she started her first dance. She leapt with great energy; her long legs were elegant as she pranced across the stage, arms flying every which way. She took deep breaths each time she paused, not daring to look at the audience or the pianist that had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. She went into a bought of pirouettes and powered up to a giant leap and going back into a spin to her knees. She moved her head gently from side to side, her eyes closed tightly. She reached her arm above her head and stared at her fingers while Ed played out the last note. There were cheers and screams and whistles and the curtain engulfed the stage once again. She stood up and ran over to the piano.

"Way to give me a heart attack." She said placing her hands on her hips. He just shrugged, not even looking at her.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled pulling out the next piece of music. Winry let her arms drop down to her side and frowned.  
"You danced really beautifully Winry." He said peeking up at her before looking away quickly. She sighed and walked back to the middle of the stage.

"Thank you Ed." She whispered. He started up the song Dream, her movements precise with each note. She quickly glanced at Ed every once and awhile, feeling her face warm up when she realized that he was watching her every movement, not even acknowledging the fact that he was playing at that moment. She could hear the gasps people took as she leapt up high and did multiple flips. She could feel their eyes digging into her every movement. The song soon came to an end, but Ed soon transferred into River Flows in You. Winry ran to either side of the stage looking around in wonder and she leapt and flipped, her arms circling around her as she spun with the main section of the song. She could feel her ankles burning as she kept spinning, but bit back her pain as she continued forth with her routine. Once the curtain fell she grasped her ankle and winced.

"Winry." Ed ran over to her and grasped her ankle. "I thought you were mad at me?" She whispered as he massaged the tight muscle. He glared at her. "I am, but now is not the time ok?" He said. "Your shoes are too tight." He said loosening the bands slightly. "They were cutting off circulation." Winry looked over Ed's shoulder and saw that Kaede was flailing his arms about hissing that they needed to continue.  
"Let's do when the love falls." She whispered to the blonde. He nodded and hurried back over to the piano. She stood and crossed her legs and held one arm above her head and the other positioned in front of her. Ed took a deep breath and started the first passage. She bent down and moved her arms up and down, then walking to the right with a kick up high. She grasped her ankle and pulled down slightly and spun, bringing her leg down until it was touching her knee. She then did a sideways flip into slow pirouettes. Her face told the story, while her dancing was the book. She was like a lost girl who didn't know who she was or where she was. She just wandered around with a broken heart, a lonely soul. She got down on her knees and held out her hands, like she was begging for something. She did a couple of dance moves before slowly fainting to the ground once the last note rang through the quiet hall. The crowd held their breath in anticipation, waiting for her to stand. She slowly dragged herself up and bowed. The all burst into cheers, clapping and wolf calls. She looked over at Edward and smiled. He just stared back at her, un-moving. With a flick of her wrist they continued on with May be. She had worked very hard on this song, making sure that she would get the move that had been taunting her this whole time. When the time came, all of her friends held their breath, praying she would get it. Winry felt the sweat fall down her cheek as she started out the move. It all happened too quickly, she had stumbled and fell on her butt, but she jumped right back up and continue forth with her dancing, even though Ed had paused to see if she was alright. The dancer made up for her mistake though with the grand finale. The crowd chatted quietly as they waited for the last and final song to be played. Roy settled down in his chair and picked up his cello. Ed nodded and started to play the first set of notes

Winry stayed still until she heard Ed take a deep breath for her entrance. This dance was very gentle and relaxing. Nothing was dangerous, and it wasn't extreme. It was simple, but beautiful. Each of Winry's moves matched each note perfectly until Roy came in quietly with his deep cello. She spun with each section of notes he had played. Edward then grew louder when she leapt across the stage and started to spin, her leg gradually going higher and higher and they both got louder and higher until her toes were pointed perfectly to the ceiling, her arms sticking out to keep balance. Her leg dropped down after the long pause and she walked around, kicking out her leg every so often, and then she leapt over and spun in a tight circle reaching her arms up high. She then stopped and smiled into the crowd. They all stood up clapping crazily. She bowed a couple of times before pulling Roy and Ed to the center to have everyone clap for them. The curtains then fell for the last time that night. Winry took Ed in a tight hug. "Thank you for everything." She whispered in his ear. He wrapped his arms around her gently.

"Your welcome." He whispered back. Kaede ran up to them and spun Winry around in a circle.

"YOU GOT THE JOB!" He yelled. She yelled in victory, all of them cheering happily for the dancer. "Congrats!" Al said running up to her with a huge hug.

"You know Winry, I never thought someone like you would be so successful." A snide voice said from the side making everyone quiet down. Winry's face grew pale and Kaede scowled.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He growled jumping in front of his friend. The man rolled his eyes.  
"Well I came back for my girlfriend." Kyle said stepping forward. Winry shrank behind Kaede and Al. "You are supposed to be dead!" She yelled at him. He brought a hand to his chest.

"Me dead? You've got to be shitting me. That car accident did worse to the other man than it did to my car." He laughed. Ed suddenly walked towards him.

"Who the hell is this? Your new boyfriend? God what a whore." He spat out before Ed decked him in the face knocking him down onto his back.

"Say that again and I will do worse." He growled, voice dripping with venom. He rotated his wrist, his bones popping.

"I dare you to punch me again punk! I can sue you for taking advantage of _MY_ girlfriend and assaulting me." He said standing up and wiping away the blood from his nose. Ed right hook him, tossing him to the side where his hip was met with Ed's leg. Kyle went flying to the other side of the stage.

"Well last time I checked, you took advantage of her and I have proof of it. Oh and let's not keep out the detail that I'm rich and I will sue your ass for everything you've got. So get the hell out of here or I will cut off your balls." Ed threatened shredding his coat off of his body.

"Let's dance then pretty boy." He said jumping up. Kaede grabbed Winry and threw her at Al.

"Take her home now, I will make sure that Ed doesn't kill the guy," He said rolling up his sleeves. Al picked up the frightened blonde in his arms and ran outside to the car where Katie was waiting.

"Honey, are you ok?" She asked staring into the girls eyes. She slowly nodded. "I just never thought I would see him again." She whispered getting inside the car.

"Well we should hurry home, we have things to do." Katie said revving up the engine and shooting out of the parking lot.

Ed licked his bloodied lips and held up his fists again.

"I can do this all night old man, so bring it on." Ed said cracking his neck. Kyle stood back up holding his now broken arm.

"You bastard." He growled before charging at the blonde pianist. Ed just stepped to the side and kicked him in the butt which sent him to the ground once again.

"You're the bastard Kyle. Winry is a beautiful person, she is caring and sweet and lovable in every way possible. Yet you fail to notice that. You are a sick being that doesn't deserve to live." Ed spat at him.

"I don't care about that bitch. Though she is really good in be-"Ed punched him in the face before he could finish that comment.

"So you call screaming and crying for help good?" He yelled. He went to punch him again, but someone held his wrist.  
"Stop it Edward that is enough. The police will take it from here." Hohenheim said. Ed jerked away from him and glared at Kyle as the police took him away.

"Have fun rotting in hell." Ed yelled before he disappeared. Kaede placed his hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Thanks for putting him in his place Ed, but we should probably be getting home. Thank you Mr. Hohenheim it is much appreciated." Kaede said shaking the older man's hand. Ed just grunted at the older man, picked up his jacket and walked away. Kaede ran over to catch up with him.  
"Are you ok?" Kaede asked looking at some of the bruises and scratches Ed had gotten. He nodded.

"I'm fine, just a couple of bruises. He got me good in the cheek though." He said taking out his car keys and unlocking the car. "I'll have Katie clean you up when we get home." Kaede said getting into the passenger seat. The ride home was quiet, neither man not knowing what to say.

"Ed, are you really mad at Winry?" Kaede asked staring out the window. He heard his companion sigh. "No I'm not. I'm the complete opposite of mad. It was Al's idea for me to be mad at her because he said that she needs to come to me." He said stopping at a stop light.

"I guess that's logical, but did you ever think she just might give up on you?" Kaede asked looking over at him. Ed shook his head with a smile.

"If I know her, she never gives up." He whispered moving the car forward and turning into the complex. He parked and the duo slowly walked up the stairs and stared at the door.

"Let's do this." They both said opening the door slowly. Ed dropped his keys at the sight before him. "What happened?" He said stepping in and turning around and around examining the room.

"Kaede? Do you-"Don't question Ed, just go." He said before closing the door, leaving Ed alone. Ed set his coat down and took in a deep breath. All the candles were vanilla, his favorite scent. The entire living room and kitchen were littered with tiny little candles everywhere, all lit and showing him the way. He slowly walked to the practice room, his face contorted with puzzlement. When he stepped foot into the room, a beautiful song started to play, and his attention was drawn to the center of the room where Winry was dancing along to the song, her eyes closed. He watched in amazement as the flames from the candles made her skin glow, she almost seemed like a goddess.

"_**She's staring at me, I'm sitting wondering what she's thinking  
Nobody's talking, cause' talking just turns into screaming  
And now as I'm yelling over her, she yelling over me,  
all that that means is neither of us are listening,  
and what's even worse, that we don't even remember why we're fighting"**_

He listened carefully to each word that was sung. He could see her mouthing the words as she danced along with the melody.

"_**So both of us are mad for nothing (fighting for)  
nothing, (crying for)  
nothing, (oohh)**_

When we won't let it go for nothing, (come back for)  
nothing,  
it should be nothing  
to a love like what we got oh baby."

He carefully stepped over the candles and grasped her hands in his before she could start spinning. Her eyes fluttered open, blue meeting gold. The music was still playing in the background, but neither was paying attention to it.

"I'm sorry Ed; I should have never said any of those things to you. You are the guy I've been waiting to meet. Granted you are a hot head sometimes, but that doesn't matter. You are an amazing person and I want to be with you." She said gripping his hands tighter. He smiled.

"Winry." He whispered before slowly leaning in, their noses brushed making both of them smile gently. He pushed her hair out of her face and connected their lips. The kiss was brief and sweet, something the dancer would cherish for her entire life. They pulled away and touched their foreheads together.

"I like the candles, they were a nice touch." He said. She just rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face. "So we are going to take this nice and slow, no rushing into anything." He stated pulling away from her fully, placing his hands on her waist, swaying to the music. She nodded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." She said. He picked her up and started to swing her around making her scream out in excitement and surprise.

"Edward Elric put me down this instant!" She laughed out he brought her back down and kissed her nose. "Congrats on getting the job by the way." He said. She looked down at her feet.

"I'm going to move to New York when I graduate from college, what about you?" She asked. He shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be going with you, where ever you go, I go. I am your pianist aren't I?" He asked. She jumped into his arms.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear. The song had just repeated making both blondes look down at the music player. Ed suddenly stepped back and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" He asked. She grasped his hand and they started to dance along with the music. Ed kept glancing at their feet and she guided him.

"Keep your eyes on me Ed, will you just trust me, I am a professional dancer you know." She said twirling under his arm.

"_**I know sometimes it's gonna rain,  
But baby can we make up now  
cause' I can't sleep through the pain (can't sleep through the pain)  
girl I don't want to go to bed, mad at you  
and I don't want you to go to bed, mad at me  
no I don't want to go to bed mad at you  
and I don't want you to go to bed, mad at me (oh noo)"**_

The couple jumped over the candles, laughing every so often when Ed stumbled over his own feet. The two soon ran out of energy and just stood in one place, swaying gently with the music.

"_**and it gets me upset girl when you're constantly accusing  
(asking questions like you already know)  
we're fighting this war, but baby both of us are losing  
(this ain't the way that love is supposed to go, what happened to working it out?)  
We fall into this place where you ain't backing down, and I ain't backing down,  
so what the hell do we do now?"**_

Winry placed her head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers up and down her back to soothe her.

"Where did you find this song? It's really touching." He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her ear drum.

"Happened by chance I guess. It is a really depressing song. That's why I chose it." She answered, her voice muffled by his coat.

"_**Oh baby this love ain't gone be perfect, (perfect perfect oh no)  
And just how good it's gonna be  
We can fuss and we can fight long as everything is alright between us before we go to sleep...**_

Baby we're gonna be...

Happy... Baby..."

"Awe they made up." Someone whispered from the door way making the couple stop and turn. Kaede, Katie and Al were all watching with smiles on their faces.  
"Al you own me twenty bucks." Kaede said holding out his hand. The two blondes look at each other and then back at their friends.

"You seriously made a bet on us?!" Ed yelled. Al shrank back a little as he handed over the money. "It was harmless brother nothing to serious-"Alphonse!" Ed sprinted over to his younger brother, but he darted away, trying to escape his brother's wrath. "Get your ass back here!" He yelled. Winry just started to laugh.

"Seems like things are looking up." She whispered to herself.

**OK PEOPLE! That is**** NOT ****the last chapter so don't leave quite yet! Soooo what did you think of the fluffiness? I loved it, couldn't stop smiling. Oh as for some of you who wanted to see Kyle get his ass whooped, there you go. YEAH team Edward! (Elric) cuz who the hells wants sparkly skin when you can have shiny auto-mail foosh yeah. Anyways don't forget to review and that the dark side always had cookies! They're chocolate chip and M&M!**


	5. A New Beginning

**Eep! (ducks down) Don't throw anything at me! At least you know I didn't disappear off the face of the earth. I'm so sorry it's been like five months! And I've barely typed anything at all. I've been uber busy. October through December are my busiest months, there are so many birthdays and a lot of work for school an such. So I deeply** **apologize. I'm being a better student this year, because last year I was really lazy, but not this year! Muahaha I am a bad ass JR. Ok I will stop ranting, and get to the story, which I can't really think of anything for, so it probably won't be that long. I was even thinking about not continuing it at all until a bunch of people were like FINISH IT! So I will not disappoint you I hope! Here are the answers to the reviews! Thanks everyone who has reviewed for the story and has favorite and followed it!**

**JaclynKaileigh- I'm glad you enjoyed the recital! I was worried that I didn't explain it well enough. Thank you for the review!**

**Bigby the big bad wolf- If this wasn't an AU I would have had Roy toast his ass and then Ed slice him up with his auto mail :D Thank you for the reviews!**

**Neusuada- Oh my and sparkly Edward Elric? Hmmm that would be an interesting sight! Haha thank you for the reviews!**

**Keiko Fujiwara- I'm sorry It took me so long! I'm glad you like this AU! If you like this one, if you have time go check out my new Prince Charming :D thank you for the review!**

**DarkForestWolf- THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT! Haha thank you for the review!**

**WARNING: Nothing but Ed and Winry fluffiness! **

**Chapter 5: A new beginning**

**One year later (The couple has been dating for a year and a couple of months)**

Winry gazed around the brand new room of her apartment. She clutched Ed's hand tightly before letting go and inspecting every corner.

"It's like nothing happened." She whispered looking back over at her boyfriend. He just rolled his eyes playfully.

"Of course not Winry, that's how it's supposed to be. How about we start bringing your stuff up?" Ed asked. Winry bit her lip. 'Now or never.'

"Ed, me and Kaede talked about some things, and he decided to go move in with Katie, leaving the apartment in my hands." She paused, wringing her fingers, a light blush painting across her cheeks.

"Would you like to move in?" She whispered, avoiding his fierce golden eyes. She felt her heart stop when he started to laugh loudly. His body was bent over, arms around his waist, body rippling with peals of laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" She mumbled. He stood up straight and wiped his eyes walking over to her.

"Are we switching roles Winry? Or can you read my mind?" He asked tilting her chin upwards. He wiped away the sparkling tears in her eyes and smiled.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to move in with me, Al was going to move in with his friend that's a couple of buildings over so that we could have our space." He stated with a small smile.

"Really?!" I asked, my eyes wide. He nodded. "We will stay here until you graduate from college, and then hopefully move to New York for your job." He said wrapping his arms around her. Her heart skipped a beat.

"You mean, you really want to stay with me?" She asked, hope sparkling in her eyes.

"Of course Winry, I-" He paused and frowned. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "What's wrong?" She asked. He shook his head. "Nothing, this is just the first time I'll be ever saying this to a girl." He said, a small blush forming over his nose. Winry smiled and grasped his hands.

"Take your time Ed. She said staring into his golden eyes. He took a deep shaky breath and kissed her on the lips gently. Before he pulled all the way back, he whispered three words to her, "I love you." He muttered. Winry couldn't hold in her excitement any longer. She jumped into his arms and placed a sloppy kiss onto his lips. He chuckled and returned the kiss with the same amount of energy. She pulled away, her lips swollen and cheeks flushed. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"I love you to Edward." She whispered back. He kissed her forehead, down to her nose and then her lips. They stood there hugging and kissing for a couple of minutes.

"I can't believe we are moving in with each other." Winry said looking into his life filled eyes. He smiled at her and nodded. "Ed?" She asked, her fingers twiddling together. He could tell she was nervous because of the way her posture suddenly slumped and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What is it Win?" He asked taking hold of her hands. She avoided his gaze and stared at their shoes.

"Since we're moving in together, does this mean we are sharing a room? Or are we living in separate rooms?" She asked so quietly he barely heard her. A blush rushed across his cheeks at the thought.

"Well I have no idea that depends if you would like to share a room." He said drawing circles with his thumb on her hand. She peeked up at him, curious to see his reaction to her answer.

"I would like that." She said hesitantly. Ed just nodded slowly and took a couple of deep breaths. "Are you ok Ed? Are we moving too fast? Was my question out of line? Was-" He placed his finger on her lips. "Winry you need to learn to be quiet." He said with an amused smile upon his lips. She glared at him, but it then melted back to concern.

"I'm fine, I think our pace is perfect, I'm just a tad nervous because this is my first relationship, and I really don't want to screw it up." He said. She nodded taking a relieved sigh once he set her lips free.

"Let's get back home." He said grasping her hand firmly in his and pulling her down the stairs to apartment one. Once the door was closed, Ed gently pushed her against the wall.

"I love you so much Winry." He mumbled kissing her lips and trailing down her neck and suckling the skin. She moaned quietly, grasping his jacket tightly.  
"Stop teasing me!" She said with a small giggle as he nibbled on her ear. He chuckled quietly and pulled away with one last peck on the cheek.

"I'm going to go practice a little before bed." He said starting to walk away before Winry grasped his forearm.

"Edward wait." She said causing him to look at her. She stepped forward and started up a heated make out session. Tongues were battling; hands were running over skin and through hair. She pulled away from him panting heavily, her cheeks flushed and brilliant red.

"What was that for?" He asked running his fingers through her hair. She kissed him again on the lips gently and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ed, will you make love to me?" She whispered. His entire body froze and he pulled her away from him to look at her.

"Are you serious Winry? Are you sure you're ready for that? I thought you wanted to wait until you were married?" He asked. She smiled sadly.

"I am serious, I love you Ed and I'm pretty sure you're the one I want in my life. And I hate to say this but I wanted to wait, but I don't really have a reason to wait anymore because I'm not a virgin, and because I love you." She said. He was taken by surprise by her bold statement. Today was apparently the day for new things to happen to the couple. Not only were they moving in with each other, but they were taking probably the biggest step next to marriage, sex. He knew he loved her and definitely wanted to marry her no matter what, but he didn't want to hurt her and wanted to make sure she completely trusted him before doing this.

"What if you get pregnant Winry? You won't be able to start your career if you do." He said kissing her hands.

"There is something called protection smart one," She said with a shake of her head. He glared at her. "And also I've been on the pill ever since Kyle. And if it does happen, then my career will have to wait." She said. That was the answer to his question. She was definitely sure about this.

"Are you absolutely positive about this?" He asked looking deep into her blue eyes. She nodded after a couple of seconds.

"More than anything Ed." With that being said he gently pulled her to his room and closed the door. He laid her down on the bed and got on top of her.

"Let me know if you want me to stop." He said before kissing her passionately. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling out the band that was holding his pony tail in place. She trailed down his back and started to tug at his jacket. He pulled away for a second and slipped it off and tossing it to the side.

"Take off my shirt." She mumbled against his neck. He did as she was told and admired the beautiful woman under him. He kissed her newly exposed stomach and tickled her side causing her to giggle.

"Edward you're so mean!" She squealed bucking up her hips trying to squirm away from his fingers. He just chuckled and pulled off his shirt next. She ran her cold fingers over his chest and down his stomach. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you Win." He whispered.

Morning came almost too quickly for the couple. Edward was the first to stir awake. He stared lovingly at the girl next to him that was curled under the covers, patches of skin peaking out. He could definitely get used to waking up to her every morning. Even though he didn't sleep well because his brain wouldn't stop thinking about Winry, and that he felt a head ache pressing through from lack of sleep, seeing Winry made all of that vanish. He ran his hand down the length of her hair and trailed down her back, and over her butt and then back up. He continued this pattern ever so gently until she finally stirred awake, squinting her eyes at the bright light pouring in through the window. She glanced up at Ed and smiled.

"Good morning." She said twirling around to lie on her back. He pulled her into his arms and squeezed her gently.

"How do you feel?" He asked burying his nose in her wonderful smelling hair. She sighed in content and placed her hands over his arms that were wrapped around her bare stomach.

"I feel wonderful, a little sore, but definitely not regretting a thing." She said leaning her head on his chest. He hummed in approval and just held her tighter.

"I'm glad you suggested that." He said kissing her cheek. She giggled and looked up at him. "Me too, probably the best night of my life." She said. He smirked. "Well I'm glad I was that good for you." He said teasingly. She slapped his chest and giggled along with him.

"So what do we do now?" He asked starting to trace circles around her bellybutton. She shrugged.

"I keep loving you while you keep loving me, nothing new about that." She said. The room grew quiet, the couple enjoying the company of each other.

"Well I think I'm going to go make some breakfast." Ed said starting to sit up but Winry tugged him back down.

"I don't think so mister. Let's just enjoy this." She said. He looked at her for a bit before finally agreeing.

"So where is your job in New York?" He asked. "Manhattan, I've been searching for some places they have there, and found some nice apartments. I really hate to ask you Ed, but would you be willing to help me pay for most of it? I don't have much money left in the will my parents left, and I've been using it very carefully in the past couple of years. College took a huge chunk out of it though so I've barely been able to pass by because I haven't gotten a job and-"Winry calm down, of course I will help you. My money is your money. Don't ever be afraid to ask me for help financially anymore, we are in this together now." He said. She nodded slowly and thanked him. Hohenheims words suddenly came to his mind. 'You are in your twenties; you should be looking for a wife.' He glanced down at Winry who was quietly humming a song and rocking her head back and forth with the rhythm. He knew for sure that she was going to be his wife, but for now, marriage can wait. He was comfortable where they were and didn't mind keeping it that way for another year or two. He kissed her head causing her to look up at him with a radiant smile.

"What should we do today?" She asked. He smiled right back at her. "I don't know why don't we wait and find out?" He said causing her to look at him in confusion, but then shrugged. "Ok whatever you say." She replied happily.

**END**

**Ok I know it was short, but it was time for this story to be wrapped up. I know that a year is a long time for something to be rebuilt after a fire, but it does happen. There was a house down the street from mine that got burned in the front and it took them almost a year to finish rebuilding it. Anyways, I think there was so much cheese in this chapter, you will have enough for a year. But what is a love story without cheese? And extra fluffiness? I hope this was to your liking and hope you review because it always makes my day no matter what :D Thank you for sticking with this story even though it took me so freaking long to get this chapter out! I still apologize for that! Please go check out my newest EdXWin story Prince Charming if you have time! :D Thank you again everyone!**


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